


The Carmine Tiefling and the Moonlight Glaive

by ThirstyBookworm



Series: The Carmine Tiefling [3]
Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Awkward Conversations, Backstory, Bars and Pubs, Circus, Demons, Devils, Drinking, Gen, High Fantasy, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Slavery, Implied/Referenced Torture, Insecurity, Magic, Mind fuckery, Monsters, Multi, Pirates, Sex Talk, Some Plot, We're talking about brothels!, Weird Plot Shit, a little bit of panic, but we are a group, don't fight it Sol!, drinking shenanigans, we are not a group
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-27
Updated: 2020-10-25
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:09:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 46,712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23827390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThirstyBookworm/pseuds/ThirstyBookworm
Summary: This is the story of Muzan Umber, my Tiefling Warlock from my current D&D campaign! This is partially a way to keep track of what happens in our campaign and also a way for me to practice creative writing from my character's POV. My goal is to update at least every other week but sometimes it will depend on where our sessions leave off, haha. I wasn't planning on making a chapter story but it's where my notes were taking me so I'm just gonna go with it!
Series: The Carmine Tiefling [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1710763





	1. To Hunt and Be Hunted

**Author's Note:**

> Lethe stopped Muzan from leaving with the others "A moment if you please?" He had some bad news to share. Reeling from this news, Muzan has to decide his next step, and possibly see if his new companions would be willing to go with him. It is time for the hunter to become the hunted.
> 
> The best way to start the game session is by giving my character a panic attack...wooooo! Everything is fine, it'll allllll be fine TT-TT

_"It appears that no letters are being delivered to Sabina right now. The island has been getting raided heavily by pirates recently. Indeed there seems to be an armada of pirate ships around the area. The government of Vespa has even requested help from The Conglomerate. I'm sorry…"_

Lethe’s words echoed in Muzan's ears along with the sounds of his own panicked breathing. He barely noticed the sympathy in Lethe's eyes when he bid farewell as Muzan left.

He couldn't move. He stood there outside Lethe's door trying to breathe and not panic. He felt paper in his right hand and realized that Lethe must have given the letters back to him. Not like they could be delivered anyway.

_No. No no no no! They have to be alright, must still be alive!_

His mind raced from one thought to the next, each considering a worse scenario. At the first mention of pirates, he knew it had to be them. The Shadow Raiders do not go down easily it seems, and he had made them very angry. 

On top of his panicked breathing, he could hear the blood pounding in his ears. Quick and deafening. 

He was terrified.

Muzan felt something touch his shoulder and he jumped, looking for the source. He saw the concerned face of Orianna, his newfound white tiefling companion. 

“Are you ok?”

He clutched the letters to his chest, touching the brooch Emeline gave him and looked up at the horizon in the direction of Free Harbor.

“I-ah, no...something’s wrong. I need to know if they’re all right! The pirates, they’re--” His words came faster and faster, getting jumbled before Orianna stopped him.

“Hold on, take a deep breath.” He stopped and breathed deep, heart still pounding in his ears. 

“Your crew?”

“I don’t know”

“..but possibly.” _It is a very large possibility,_ he thought to himself.

“Lethe said there was an armada. Our crew was never that large. But they could be involved.”

“We should look for more information then.”

Muzan nodded several times, knowing she was right, his other hand unconsciously clenching the handle of his knife. The knife he kept with him at all times. The one that Nash had given him. If the Vespan government was desperate enough to reach out to The Conglomerate the situation must be bad. The Conglomerate was a group of plutocratic islands--Velda, Troia, and Meldina--that were close by, with Meldina being the closest to his home island of Sabina. _Home...or what’s left of it._ As the memories threatened to wash over him he felt a hand placed over his, but he couldn’t move.

“You can’t do anything right now. Anger will get you nowhere.” He looked at her then, and her expression changed to one of recognition as she saw the terror in his eyes, not anger as she thought.

“Is there something significant about the place?”

“That is my home.” _And I am so far away, I don’t know if I can make it in time._

Orianna paused, and there was a moment of silence before he heard her quietly say “....fuck…”

There were no more questions from her then. He had told her enough about Nash that she could probably guess the rest. Her questioning had helped distract him a little though, and he was grateful she had stayed behind. He looked around and noticed that the rest of the group was nowhere to be seen.

“Where are the others?”

“They went to see the maester. Talking about laying the two we found to rest.” Ah, right. The two bodies that they had found in that strange temple. It was better that the rest weren’t around; he needed a moment to collect himself and figure out what he wanted to do. A moment for his heart to stop racing.

“That is good. I….I think I’m going to take a walk. Clear my head.”

“Do you….need company?” He could hear the hesitancy in her voice. After all, they hadn’t known each other for very long. Even so, he had a feeling that he could trust her. The way she reacted when she had listened to him talk about Nash told him that she understood his circumstances very well, possibly better than most people. Normally he would be glad of the company, but right now he wanted to be alone, at least for a little while.

Muzan shook his head and smiled ruefully, “Not right now, but thank you. I won’t be long”

She nodded in understanding, “Alright. If you need anything, even if it’s just an ear…”

“It is much….much appreciated.” Being a stranger in this country it was a comforting thing knowing he had a friend to talk to if he needed. While she could be strange and act a bit cocksure at times, it was nice to see her drop her facade a bit. 

Muzan nodded a farewell and left Orianna there outside Lethe’s house, walking in the direction of Harley Harvey’s House of Whares. As he meandered down the path he couldn’t help but think of Emeline and his parents and worry. The Shadow Raiders could be brutal, and if they were targeting Sabina because of him to what lengths would they go to flush him out? Would they harm the villagers or simply scare them to get information? If they didn't have the right information what would happen then? In his letters, he had asked Emeline and his parents to pretend they had never heard of him if anyone came looking, but it was clearly too late for that. He stuffed the two now-slightly-crumpled letters in a pocket. He hoped they would be smart enough to look out for themselves.

He felt his eyes grow hot as tears spilled over. _Damn it, don’t give up on them yet! They have to be alive!_ He admonished himself and angrily wiped them away. 

He was terrified that the worst would happen, but in his gut, he felt fiery anger start to grow. He had always been afraid of Nash and Captain Payne because he was weaker than them. Nash threw him around like a rag and beat him as he pleased. The Captain had a presence about him that made chills run down his spine whenever he looked at Muzan. Bolton Payne did not need to resort to brutish methods when he could simply order it be done. But Muzan endured it with the knowledge that his loved ones were safe from them. Now that Nash was threatening them it was different. Muzan was stronger now, he had a few more tricks up his sleeve that he hadn’t before. And he was itching for the chance to use them on his former captors.

Muzan was normally not one for revenge, but things had changed. He had friends of his own now, friends who could possibly help him hunt the pirates down and finish them off for good this time. The anger soon overtook his fear as he walked, and he started to formulate a plan.

When he reached Harley Harvey’s House of Whares, he purchased the Dragonscale Rose that Harley had set aside for Orianna. After all, she had saved his life earlier in the week and he wanted to show his gratitude. After a short conversation with the poor, naive new shop-owner, Muzan slowly made his way back to the inn Shell’s Rest hoping that the others had returned so he could ask for their help. He was willing to beg if he had to.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shell’s Rest was a much-needed distraction. Everyone had returned there and Muzan arrived at the same time as Orianna to see Igman, the proprietor and only employee, serving their friend Rin some type of drink. Remembering the electrical explosion that resulted from the last time Rin got drunk, Muzan warned: “I’d be careful giving that one alcohol, he exploded last time”. Igman smiled and said with a wink “Oh I wouldn’t worry, I think he can handle it this time.” Rin, none the wiser, downed the drink and proclaimed that it was the best drink he’d ever had. Delicious and flowery. Though to be fair he had not been allowed to drink where he came from, so he hadn't had much experience with the taste of good alcohol. Rin ordered a giant carafe of it and offered to share it with anyone who wished. Muzan took a cup of the stuff and eyed it curiously. It had a reddish tinge to it and certainly didn’t look like any ale he had tried before. He took a drink of it. It was certainly delicious, with a floral taste and refreshing coolness, and it was without a doubt simply a glass of Igman's special iced tea. Muzan chuckled at Rin and enjoyed the tea as he listened to the different conversations around him. 

A few minutes later the doors to the inn opened as Mayor Firfoot walked in with a couple of his men. He greeted everyone and thanked them again for their assistance in defeating the evil that was corrupting the nearby ruins. He informed them that for the remainder of their stay in the town their room and board were provided free of charge in addition to the reward they had already received. He also asked what name he should put them down for in the books. Muzan and the rest looked at each other confused. “What do you mean name?” Rin piped up. “Oh, well some mercenaries have a group name that they go by, but if you prefer your regular names that is fine as well” the Mayor explained.

“We are not a group.” Sol chimed in. A couple of the others nodded in agreement. They had only done this one job together, no reason to stick around. Hearing that though, Rin gasped and turned to Sol, “We are a group!” The two argued back and forth about it as the Mayor jotted down everyone’s name and bid farewell. Muzan would not be opposed to being in a group with these people, he had quite enjoyed their time together. He also had his own selfish reasons. There were many capable fighters and magic users in their group.

Giving up his argument with Rin, Sol moved over to a corner by himself to drink his ale in peace. Still determined, Rin bounced over to sit next to Sol and continued to pester him. Muzan overheard him say “Why don’t you want to be friends with me?!” and smiled at Rin’s persistence. Rin was the most curious of Muzan’s new companions. He was very small and had green skin. He almost looked like a goblin but he certainly wasn’t one. Muzan thought Rin to be very hyperactive at times but that just made him more endearing. He was a stark contrast to the normally silent elf that looked grumpily resigned to his fate as he sat and argued with Rin.

Muzan sat next to Orianna at the bar and half-listened to Sol and Rin. He remembered the scale rose in his pocket and was deciding when and how to give it to her. He overheard Rin mentioning something about children and saw Orianna’s expression darken. _Touchy subject?_ He wondered, but the thought was interrupted as they then heard Rin loudly asking Sol a very strange question. “Is it illegal to...to turn someone into a goat?” There was silence as everyone looked at Rin. Did he really turn someone into a goat? Rin babbled on about a person who was trying to take Rin’s food and Rin tried stopping him and accidentally turned them into a goat….that still tried to eat his food. Muzan couldn’t help but laugh as they all reassured Rin that they were pretty sure that wasn’t illegal and would probably just make the person angry...if they ever turned back.

After that Sol and Orianna casually conversed as Rin hopped over to chat with All Smite and Dracotaurus. Despite their first encounter Muzan noted that Sol and Orianna seemed to be getting along…..surprisingly well when one had killed the other a few days ago.

They were in this very inn, spending the night before they would be told what their task for the city was to be the next day. In the middle of the night, Muzan had woken up to hear Orianna screaming, calling for help, and for Dracotaurus' aid. He rushed out of his room, just behind the Great Dracotaurus himself, to come upon a hectic scene. Orianna, with a rapier in her hands, manacles on her wrists, and fury in her eyes, was being restrained by some magical vines while a strange figure with a bow was approaching her. The dwarf Kharbek was off to the side, seemingly trying to diffuse the situation, looking unsure of what to do. Dracotaurus was the first to make it to the figure and quickly knocked him out cold with one of his hammers, freeing Orianna of the binding magic. Before anyone could react to ask what had happened, Orianna blindly surged forward, stabbing the stranger's body and pinning him to the floor and killing him just as Igman rushed in. Igman called them all fools and rushed back out to get someone to help. It was revealed that this person had jumped Orianna in her sleep, restrained her, and attacked her when she tried to escape. Searching his pockets they found the key to the manacles and Muzan helped Orianna out of them. Igman soon returned with the proprietor of The Blushing Wyvern in tow, who then magically revived the person on the floor...for a price. Igman mediated the situation the best he could, and they all discovered that Sol had mistakenly thought Orianna was a criminal, forgetting that the bounty he had for her stated that she was a runaway and her family was searching for her. They also found out that Sol was one of the companions of Rin, Kharbek, and All Smite. The other group of people they were supposed to be working with the next day to help the town. Igman brokered a grudging peace between the two, and the tension eased a little.

To be honest, Muzan wasn't sure that he would have acted any differently had he been in Orianna's position. Things were shaky at first, but slowly getting better. Sol even helped save Orianna's and Muzan's lives in the ruined temple. A detail that Muzan would not forget. He may not be the smartest elf, but he had shown himself to be useful.

Muzan’s ears perked up when he heard Sol ask Orianna if she wanted to hunt down the people that had placed the bounty on her. He explained that he wasn't the only one that they had contracted and there might be more trying to find her. She seemed unsure at the prospect. “You would not be alone,” Muzan chimed in. He knew what it was like to have people after you, and he wanted to help her if he could. She seemed to ponder it for a moment before all of a sudden there was a sudden loud “Woah!!” at the other side of the room. The three turned to see that Rin had grown to be twice his size. Rin had an excited grin on his face at this new development, it seemed like he had discovered a new spell? He excitedly asked if anyone else wanted to try.

Behind the bar Igman shook his head, strangely unsurprised by his guest's eccentricities.

While she was distracted Muzan took the scale flower out and placed it next to Orianna’s glass. When she turned back and noticed it, she picked it up and looked at it curiously, not seeing how it got there. “Thank you...for all that you’ve done.” Muzan said in a lowered voice, and he turned to see who volunteered for Rin’s experiment, not waiting for her response. He watched as Rin pointed at Dracotaurus and Kharbek and they both grew double their size while Rin shrank back to normal.

Sol muttered something about it getting a bit too crowded, got up, and headed to the door. Downing the rest of his drink, Muzan followed him out as Rin started climbing up Dracotaurus exclaiming “You’re like a tree!”

Outside Sol took out a pipe and offered some tobacco to Muzan. He accepted it and thanked Sol. They both stood there in silence, the scent of tobacco smoke hanging in the air.

“So, you’re a bounty hunter” Muzan broke the silence.

“Sure am.”

Muzan hesitated, unsure of the response he would get. “...have you ever hunted pirates before?”

Sol thought for a moment, “Pirates. Not on the water but I know the type. Is there someone you’re after?”

The commotion inside grew louder. They both watched, amused, as Dracotaurus tore out of the inn with Rin on his shoulders, running towards the forest shouting about pulling up a tree.

“There is...or I should say he is after me I think. But if he is to threaten my home I will find him.” The last words turned into a growl as Muzan thought of what he wanted to do to Nash when the time came.

Sol puffed on his pipe, “I can help with that.”

“I would greatly appreciate that help. Any help, really, he is quite formidable.”

“You know this person? Tell me about him. Race, height, weight, scars…?”

Muzan laughed darkly, “I, unfortunately, know him quite well. He is human, a few inches taller than me, bigger muscles too. Short brown hair, usually has a scarf covering it. Many tattoos on his arms.”

Sol chuckled, “That should be an easy one to catch in my experience.”

"I think....there is more to him than meets the eye. He has a very strong arm. Likes to use a cutlass....and a whip."

"What do you want to do with him? Say he is threatening your home. what is your solution?"

Muzan pulled out the knife and eyed it in the sunlight. "I want to find him and finish the job I started a year ago. But better prepared this time...."

“So you want to kill him.”

“Yes, I very much want to kill him.”

Their conversation went on as Sol asked him more details and the location of the pirates. Muzan explained that it was to the west of here, but it would take several weeks of sailing. They were discussing which port city it would be best to seek out a ship to take them there when Kharbek joined them, now his normal Dwarf size.

“I have no great love of water, but I am interested in going with you. Is there much land where you’re from Muzan?”

“Oh yes, there are many islands and much land to explore. There is even the Ebonspire which is the tallest mountain I have seen.”

Kharbek seemed skeptical at that, “Well how many mountains _have_ you seen?”

“Not many,” Muzan admitted, “but the Ebonspire stretches far into the sky, as far as the eyes can see, and despite the distance, it can be seen even from my home island.”

Kharbek may have been skeptical, but he did seem interested in seeing it for himself. “Are there many people there?”

“Oh no, it is really quite a dangerous region. I do not know of any people that would want to live there, and I have not been there myself to see.” It was well known, even as far as Sabina, that the Ebonspire was dangerous and uninhabitable. Muzan had heard tales of it growing up and even passed by it a few times when he was on The Broken Sun with the Shadow Raiders.

Kharbek crossed his arms, “Well, there must be dwarves there at least!”

“Haha, if there are, they would be the hardiest of dwarves.” _And possibly insane..._ but Muzan left that out.

“Well then, I would like to see it myself!”

At that point, Rin and Dracotaurus, now normal-sized, returned and had caught the tail end of their conversation. “See what?” Rin piped up. The group walked back inside as they explained to Rin and Dracotaurus the prospect of journeying to the west.

Once inside Muzan propositioned everyone, telling them that he had heard some distressing news from his home and his desire to find out more and possibly sail there. Still full of energy, Rin got even more excited hearing about sailing on a ship.

“Can you even swim, Rin?” Sol questioned, probably thinking of the poor display Rin put on in the ruined temple.

“I...don't think so? But I’ll be fine! Besides, Muzan can teach me! You can do that, right? You can swim?” Muzan looked at Rin smiling up at him and couldn’t help but smile back.

“Of course I can swim, I grew up on an island! While I have not had much experience teaching others, I will do my best.”

All Smite and Dracotaurus both seemed interested in the prospect of a new adventure, and immediately accepted when Muzan told them about the many islands to explore near his home. After some discussion, it was tentatively decided that they would travel to Free Harbor to charter a ship, and possibly see if Lethe could assist them in expediting the process before they left. There were a couple of worries voiced. Kharbek, in particular, seemed to want to avoid large crowds of people. Orianna seemed nervous as well, given that she was being hunted. Though she said that she would have no trouble disguising her appearance if they went. As far as Sol knew, the people that had put the bounty out for her, claiming she was a runaway, were traveling to Free Harbor. It was unknown if they had made it there or not.

Once their destination was decided the group made for Lethe’s residence to see if he would help them. Lethe was more than willing to accommodate their request, saying that he knew someone in Free Harbor that he could message to search for suitable passage. Curiously Muzan asked Lethe if he could message people that he hadn’t met before with a good enough description. Lethe apologized and said that unless Muzan could replicate the intended contact’s appearance he would be unable to do so. Then he paused, seeming to calculate in his head for a bit, and added on that he could write down the spell but it would take about a week. Muzan shook his head, he did not have that amount of time. He thanked Lethe for the offer and decided to search for something similar in Free Harbor. It was a large city, after all, there were bound to be magic shops selling scrolls.

They left Lethe’s home and stopped by The Blushing Wyvern tavern to see the performance of the night before their big journey the next day.

It was...a new experience for Muzan. He would have been embarrassed if he weren’t so desperate for something to occupy his mind away from worrying. The performance was good and definitely enjoyable, but the performers' outfits were more revealing than he had ever seen. He overheard the word ‘burlesque’ but had no idea what it meant. There were skits and songs, even some solo performances that left Muzan a bit redder in the face than he normally was, and it was overall a very talented and well put together show. He left with the others once the performance was over, ending the day at Shell’s Rest and greeted by Igman who was cleaning up behind the bar. They each went to their separate rooms, ready to travel to Free Harbor in the morning. Muzan was about to head to his room when Orianna approached him and asked if he would once again stay in her room. He nodded and followed her up the stairs.

He was not surprised at the request. If he was attacked the first night he stayed somewhere he would not want to be alone either. He doffed his new armor, sat leaning up against the door inside her room and made an effort to keep out intrusive thoughts that would prevent sleep from ever coming. Thoughts of his father’s workshop and the smell of clay that always permeated the air. Shying away from the tiny voice at the back of his mind wondering if the shop still stood. Thoughts of Emeline and the sound of her laughter as she playfully teased him, running out of his reach and hiding behind a tree. Wondering if he would ever hear it again.

His thoughts turned to the events in the ruined temple, and the voice he had heard in his head. That low and husky masculine voice of some unknown being that was his Glaive. The two women that he saw that time, one clad in white and the other in black, had asked him if he intended on keeping the weapon but did not wait for his response. 

He reached out, searching for that voice, _I don’t know if you can hear my thoughts, but if you’re listening…I accept. I intend to keep you, though I would like to know what to call you. My name is Muzan Umber, and if you’ll have me I will wield you in battle. If you help me kill the first person I used you against, I will do whatever you ask of me._

And he sat there in the dark, listening and waiting for a reply.


	2. We Are Not a Group

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After his first encounter face-to-face with his patron, Muzan and co. embark on their journey to Free Harbor to chart a ship to Sabina. Unfortunately, that requires money, but there are always ways to earn money.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See "A Deal is Struck" in my Carmine Tiefling series for the actual encounter with Locke :)

Muzan couldn’t help but stare at his hand. He remembered the dream and how real it felt. _It was real._ He inspected his hand once more, still looking for any sign of a burn mark but knowing there would be none. He shrugged and headed down with Orianna to grab some breakfast from Igman.

As he finished up and got ready to leave, Muzan approached Igman carefully. “Excuse me…”

“Yes, what do you need?”

“If any more of those rough-looking folk come to town looking for me...please tell them that I went to Amber Sands or Stones Hold or something. Just, another town. I don’t want anything to happen to this place.”

Igman nodded, and nonchalantly said “I’ve never even seen you.” Muzan had to admit he was very convincing.

Everyone had their own preparations to make before heading to Free Harbor. Muzan and a few others stopped by Harley’s Homely House of Whares to negotiate his offer of investing in a share of his shop. Really the poor gnome was young and inexperienced and desperately needed the money to continue his operations, but they were able to strike a decent deal with him for a 21% share. Harley held out his hand to shake on it and Muzan took it, recalling how his last handshake was also for a deal. Then they all signed the agreement he drew up and bid their farewells to him.

Muzan felt a bit bad about leaving. In a way this gnome was one of his first friends since he left. When Harley heard that they were going to be gone for a while his face fell, “You mean, you’re not staying?”

“No, we have some business to attend to.” Muzan told him. “And besides, how are we supposed to spread the word of your marvelous shop if we stay here? How will we bring back items for you to sell if we don’t leave?”

Harley sighed sadly and nodded, “I guess you’re right.” He wished them well and hoped that they would return one day.

They all went their separate ways, visiting shops and preparing for the journey. Muzan walked to Lethe’s house, _I should warn him as well, he seems to have a higher position in this town._

He approached and happened to catch Lethe outside with the two children that were in his care. Muzan waved, “Ah, Lethe! A moment if you please.”

Lethe ushered the children away and they happily continued their play. “Yes?”

“I wanted to thank you again for your help. We are getting ready to leave, but I just wanted… If any more of those men come searching for me, please, _please_ , tell them that I went to Amber Sands or Stoneshold or something. I don’t want to be the cause of any trouble, don’t let them hurt anyone. Though, I’m not sure if more will be coming...”

Lethe nodded thoughtfully, “I appreciate it, I will do as you ask.”

“ _Thank you_ so much.”

After Muzan turned to leave and started to walk away, Lethe stopped him, “Actually, it would be good if you told me just who it is you’re running from and what you know about them.” Muzan with his back turned failed to notice Lethe casting a spell as he said this.

It was a perfectly reasonable request, Muzan liked Lethe after all and he had been so helpful. So, he turned back and told Lethe _everything_ he knew about The Shadow Raiders.

When he was done Lethe looked thoughtful and wished him luck on their journey. Muzan thanked him again and continued on his way back to the Shell’s Rest inn to meet with the others. Once they had all gathered they bid Igman farewell and left the small town of Alderton.

\----

It was almost a week’s travel to Free Harbor. The first day went by with no issues. They made camp that night and Muzan watched as Orianna pulled out a violin, showing it to Rin. She had promised him earlier that she would teach him how to play an instrument. Rin watched fascinated as she played on the instrument, the melody drifting through the quiet section of wood where their camp was. Muzan thought it sounded wonderful and closed his eyes as he listened.

The song was short as she didn’t want to draw any creatures near them, and she spent the next several minutes teaching Rin how to hold it and the proper posture and finger positions. She asked Rin if he wanted to try playing it a bit and he laughed nervously, giving it back and saying he was good for the night, not wanting to ruin her violin.

As a group, they decided to keep two 2 hour watches until Sol woke up to finish out the night while the rest slept.

Orianna and Rin took the first watch, and all seemed well and quiet until Orianna saw something through the trees. They both heard the sound of mail clinking together, and saw the figures of two humanoids walking by. The figures acted like they were searching for something. Orianna and Rin lay very still, ready to wake the others to fight, but the figures moved on not discovering their camp.

When Muzan and Kharbek got up to take the second watch Orianna relayed what they had seen. Muzan kept a sharp eye out but saw nothing else that night.

The next morning came and they packed up and continued on their journey.

After a few hours of walking they could see a broken down wagon in the distance. Next to the wagon was a group of orcs, and it sounded like they were arguing but none of them could understand what they were saying. As the group drew closer a couple of the orcs noticed them. They continued arguing for another second before one of them drew his weapon and attacked the group.

It was a quick fight, Dracotaurus and All Smite were able to subdue the fighters with the help of Kharbeck. Sol, Rin, Orianna, and Muzan had their hands full with one of the other orcs. This one was a bit different though. She wore a vestment with a black sun in the middle, like she was some sort of priestess. She was a mage of some skill and almost got to Rin before she was shot down by Sol’s arrows, Muzan’s eldritch energy, and Orianna’s magic.

As soon as the priestess was killed the remaining two orcs by Dracotaurus and All Smite dropped their weapons and submitted. One of them spat at All Smite, asking him if he worked for someone named “Aidaan”. All Smite denied it and asked them why they stopped fighting. The orcs responded that they lost honor by losing and asked what they were going to do to them.

Dracotaurus grabbed the second orc, looking to subdue him, but the orc got the better of him and laughed. With renewed vigor, Dracotaurus grappled him for a few minutes, seemingly in a contest of strength. They wrestled until everyone heard a loud _crack_ as the orc's head hit the ground. 

Muzan, Orianna, Sol, and All Smite walked over to the broken carriage to see if there was anything they could use on their journey. They were in need of a tent for shelter. The sight that met them was horrifying but familiar to Muzan. Four bodies, clearly the owners of the carriage, beaten bloody and beyond recognition.

All Smite, filled with indignant rage, walked over to the remaining orc and swiftly beheaded him.

Rin approached the wagon, asking what they had all seen to make their faces so scary. Sol tried stopping him but it was too late. He took one look inside and ran away from the cart screaming, Sol following close behind.

_This must be what “injustice” is._ Muzan thought as he helped All Smite and Dracotaurus begin to dig graves for the family that had been slaughtered by the orcs. None of them said a word. He could still hear Rin in the distance still screaming. He was too quick for any of them to prevent him from seeing the bodies. The sight of them was too much for him, bloody and unrecognizable except for the clear size difference. Two parents and their children. After inspecting the contents of the carriage Orianna walked over to join Sol in trying to talk to Rin.

“WHY?! WHY WOULD THEY DO THIS? WHY!!” Muzan could hear Rin shouting the questions repeatedly. After several minutes Muzan smelled burning flesh from the direction that Rin had run. The graves were almost finished so Muzan left the rest to All Smite and Dracotaurus as he went to check it out. He walked up next to Sol and saw a roaring magical bonfire in front of Rin. Muzan could barely make out the body of the Orc Priestess in the middle of the flames. Orianna was next to him, hand on his shoulder trying to calm him down. Muzan heard Rin shout, “Why did they have to do this to kids?!” He watched as Orianna pulled Rin into a hug and could hear Rin sobbing. Muzan swallowed past the lump in his throat, the image of the bodies in the cart dredging up unwanted memories and guilt. _What if this is all that is left of my home? Oh gods… Rin is too young for this._ A few minutes later he heard Rin say with great conviction, “We’ve gotta get rid of all of the evil stuff in the world. We’re gonna do it! Or at least I am.” Muzan believed him.

The emblem of the black sun on the orc priestess’s robes was burned into his memory. She was a part of some organization, one that he would not forget. 

Muzan walked back over to the others digging the graves and started dragging the rest of the orc bodies to where Rin’s fire was, throwing them on the pile.

Dracotaurus, Kharbek, and All Smite had just finished burying the bodies as Muzan, Sol, Orianna, and Rin returned. Thankfully there were some supplies in the carriage, along with a large tent. After grabbing what they needed they solemnly looked at each other and continued on towards the city of Free Harbor. That night as they made camp Muzan could hear Orianna singing a song to Rin. It sounded sad and sweet, her voice lilting pleasantly in the air.

After another couple of days of uneventful travel, they finally laid eyes on the city of Free Harbor. Muzan could see the large blue-stone spire that was the Tower of Erathis and the domed building of the Great Observatory.

A blue and teal clad army approached the city, returning from the north. The bannermen were holding the blue and gold banners of Free Harbor, depicting four towers that had a garland of twelve stars.

As they drew closer Muzan could see that there were two groups within the returning soldiers. The first carried the blue and gold banners, the second were those that carried no banners and did not wear the same blue and teal uniforms, he gathered they were most likely mercenaries. 

As they walked Muzan heard Lethe’s voice in his head, “My friend found a potential captain, affordable. Be cautious, seems capable but dubious. Dorian, northwest of the city. Look amongst the taverns there and you will find him. Most merchant ships have other destinations, most will go to Stones Hold.” After the spell faded Muzan relayed to the rest of the group what Lethe had said.

Rin spoke up as well, saying that a day or so ago he had received a message from his mother, telling him to find MISFA or Pyras Vesti and that he will be able find help there. 

There was some discussion led by Sol on rules while they were in the city and who was going where. In the end, it was decided that 1) no one should travel alone in the city, 2) they were NOT a group, and 3) they were going to be as quick as possible. Sol’s insistence that they were not a group was intriguing to Muzan, he was sure there had to be a reason, but it wasn’t really the proper time to ask.

They all noticed that most of the returning soldiers were heading towards ships that were docked at the city’s harbor, while the mercenaries lingered at tents stationed outside the walls. The nomadic druid peoples who lived in the tents were tending to some of the injured mercenaries. As they passed through, Muzan noticed one of the mercenaries directing people. It was a man with tan skin, with one green eye and one silver, though one of his eyes was swollen shut from the fighting. While his shield looked very used and beaten, his sword was very pristine and well taken care of. _Clearly someone who knows what he's doing..._

As they walked towards the gates, Muzan felt a strange but familiar sensation tugging at the back of his mind. It was similar to the slight tingling or tugging that he felt when he summoned the glaive, only this time the feeling was inverse. It almost seemed like the weapon was readying itself. Curiously he looked around, but didn’t see anything that he thought would cause it. _Is something here?_ He directed a thought towards Locke, but there was no response and he shrugged to himself, remaining alert.

The group approached the gates and the guards directing the people through stopped them immediately, asking what business they had. His demeanor was very dismissive and he was overall quite rude. Muzan tried explaining that they were visiting the city to charter a ship West and the guard scoffed and made a rude comment about tieflings. As All Smite and a couple of the others continued arguing with the guard, Muzan heard Rin’s voice in his head saying “Oh, so he’s a racist.” Muzan looked down at Rin, not quite believing what he’d heard. Rin seemed to not be paying attention, looking around at the different sights and people. _Great, am I hearing MORE voices in my head?_ He thought to himself.

They were getting no progress with the guard when the mercenary with the pristine sword Muzan had seen earlier approached and tried to calm the guard down on their behalf. At first, the guard seemed dismissive of him as well, calling him “The Craven” and telling him to mind his own business, but shortly after he became much more amicable and finally agreed to let them pass. It was very subtle, but Muzan almost thought that the man had spelled the guard.

The man introduced himself as Aidaan and told them that he was a part of The Razor’s Edge mercenary group. They talked with him a bit and learned that him and his group had just returned from skirmishes with some orc groups that were causing trouble. _So this must be the “Aidaan” that orc mentioned,_ Muzan thought to himself. Aidaan explained that most of the orc tribes to the north were peaceful and seldom made trouble, but there were a couple of rebel factions that did not adhere to the same principles and they were becoming harder to handle. They all thanked him for his help with the guard but he waved them off saying that it was no trouble and the guard was an ass anyway.

Orianna and Rin took the opportunity to ask Aidaan a bit of what he knew about the city before he left them. He warned that there was a bit of crime and trouble in the northwest part of the city and to hide their coin purses if they were headed that direction. Remembering that the northwest area was where Lethe said Dorian would be, they asked him if he knew of any good bars in that area or if there were any to avoid. Aidaan thought for a moment and told them that The Broken Sword was a decent place to go, but avoid The Hooded Hellhound as there was some gang activity around it. He also mentioned that the magistrate of the northwest ward was kind of an asshole. He then told them that the east side of town was very hoity-toity, a bunch of rich people who were not rich enough to be merchants or nobility. The “worst sort of rich people” according to him, due to their inferiority complexes.

They thanked him again for the information and made their way into the city, leaving the main gate area. A few minutes after they left Muzan felt the strange sensation from the glaive slowly fade. _Curious, I wonder who or what caused it..._

Free Harbor was the largest city he had ever seen. It was loud and crowded and a bit claustrophobic. There were so many people! Muzan had been there briefly when he first arrived on the continent, but he had stayed away from the heart of the city that they were walking through now.

Rin wished to find MISFA, which they now knew stood for the Magus Institute of Sciences and Fine Arts. Dracotaurus, Sol, and All Smite didn’t seem too keen on the idea so they found a place to rest at called "The Fox & Fox Pub" while the rest of the group headed towards MISFA.

On the way Muzan took the opportunity to ask Rin, “Back there at the gates...I heard you but didn’t. What was that?”

Rin grinned and Muzan heard in his head again, “Oh, I don’t knowww…” and then he heard Rin giggling. No, heard was not quite right. He _felt_ it.

“Have you always been able to do this?” Muzan had never heard of such an ability.

"I think so? I'm not sure, it's just something I can do. I don't know how it works though." Rin explained.

Muzan felt a bit relieved at that and muttered, “Oh good, I was just making sure I’m not hearing more voices…”

Rin heard him and his eyes grew huge, “Wait, you hear other voices?” 

Muzan caught himself and looked away, “Haha, no of course not…” He knew it didn’t sound convincing at all, but Rin didn’t ask any more questions about it.

At the entrance to MISFA they were stopped by another set of guards. Muzan noticed that these guards only carried wands and staves as opposed to typical weapons. They asked what business the four had there and Rin explained that his mother Lathi was a great mage and had sent him to MISFA and that he would be able to find help. The guards exchanged a confused look and explained that the Mage's Council was in a meeting at the moment and would be taking business sometime tomorrow, but not at this gate. It seemed that they were all meeting with some important visitors that had come through with the soldiers. No matter what he said, they seemed reluctant to let Rin enter. 

Seeing Rin looking so disheartened, Muzan spoke up, “Wasn’t there someone specific here that your mother told you to ask for?” 

Rin perked up, “Oh yeah! She told me to ask for Pyras Vesti and said that he would be able to help me!” 

Hearing that name the guards looked at each other nervously.

“Should I let him know?” The first one asked the other, “He wasn’t happy the last time I bothered him…”

The second guard shoved him, chiding “Well the last time you interrupted him for something stupid! This sounds important, you better message him.”

And so they watched as the guard gestured in the air, listening as he spoke a brief message letting Pyras Vesti know that the son of Lathi was here and requesting a meeting.

The guard put a hand to one of his ears to block out sound as he listened to the reply. He then opened his eyes, looked at Rin, and told him that he would be allowed inside but could only take one other with him.

Rin looked between Muzan, Orianna, and Kharbek nervously, unable to decide at first. "Uhh, who should I take with me?" He asked them.

"Whoever you want," Orianna replied with a smile.

"Don't worry about me," Muzan told him, "Kharbek and Orianna were the ones who wanted to go inside the most."

Rin looked between Kharbek and Orianna, clearly struggling with the choice. Finally, he picked Orianna to go with him and they disappeared inside. Kharbek walked to a nearby bench and sat down, enjoying the momentary peace from the crowded areas. Muzan sat on the bench with him. After a little bit Muzan broke the silence saying, “Kharbek, you do not seem to be a man of many words?”

“I suppose I am not, especially in a city of so many.”

Muzan nodded, remembering Kharbek's concerns the previous week. “That is fair. I admit it is a bit overwhelming. I am not used to a city so large.”

“I found the last town so manageable.”

Muzan sighed, “Yes, it was quite cozy. Reminded me of home a little.”

“You were from a small town as well?”

“Yes! It was more of a village. My home was more inland, but my father had a small shop near the port.”

“It sounds nice! I grew up in a large city, I don’t mind cities of my own kind, but this is overwhelming. The scale is wrong. My mother was a smith, specializing in armors. What did your father sell?”

“He is a potter, he makes all manner of clay things. Pots, decorations, housewares. He made this for me even,” and Muzan pulled out the circular ceramic pendant he wore around his neck.

“It is a fine charm, I like it!”

“Thank you! He told me that he hoped it would give me some protection.” Muzan smiled fondly at the memory of his father giving it to him on his 15th birthday. “I don’t think it has any sort of power like that, but I keep it with me all the same.”

“Sometimes having a part of home with you helps to protect you from losing your way.”

“You are completely right. Having a small bit of hope can get you through much…” the smile faded as he said that. Kharbek nodded in agreement. “But your mother was a smith? I’m sure the armor made was very fine to behold!”

“Indeed! I said was, but the truth is she still might be. I have not been home in some time.”

“No?”

“Yeah, but she made this scale armor that was just incredible. It was made of drawn wire, while many make theirs from cast or forged rings.”

“That sounds fascinating!”

“The drawing process is painstaking, but in the end, the rings are much more durable. She taught me as much as she could, but I set my mind on other learning. I get that from my father. We are curious men by nature.”

“Other learning? Is that how you came to cast such divine magic?”

“Yessir. I was quite precocious as a child, but as I grew older it seems I became more average. When it came to learning I made up for a lack of intelligence through perseverance. I’m not slow, but I will say I am no genius. I spent more hours than most in meditation and reading.”

“Based on our time in that ruined temple I would say you’re a bit more than average. Your hours of meditation have not been wasted that’s for sure.” _Certainly saved my skin, that's for sure!_

“Thank you!”

“You seemed a bit hesitant earlier, but I would love to hear of your studies and whom you serve. I am also a curious person. But we have plenty of time if now is not good.”

Kharbek seemed contemplative, but they could see Orianna and Rin exiting the MISFA entrance and coming to meet them. Muzan and Kharbek got up and walked towards them, asking if they were successful.

Rin happily says that he was very successful and that he has access to the Laboratory of MISFA whenever he wants and he can take one person with him. The MISFA Laboratory was a place where arcane practitioners could create magical items, something that would be very useful once they had the money to spend on it.

Before leaving to return to the others, Muzan approached the guards at the gate once more. The first guard that had sent the message to Pyras Vesti was gone, but the second one who had given him a hard time was still there. Muzan asked him about the messaging spell and if the guard knew of any way to find a scroll of it. The guard explained that some could probably be found in the MISFA Library or in any of the shops in the market nearby. Muzan was able to get the name of an “Illkeem’s Marvelous Oddities” as a possible shop, thanked the guard, and rejoined the rest as they headed back to where Dracotaurus, All Smite, and Sol were waiting.

Upon entering the Fox & Fox Pub All Smite greeted them and immediately addressed Orianna, calling her by name and saying that they were able to get her bounty suspended.

_Not so loud you fool!_ Muzan thought as Orianna bristled next to him.

“You what?” She said icily. “What did you do? First, tell me what happened, and second, don’t _ever_ use that name here.”

All Smite faltered a bit, stumbling over his words “Well we, um, we found someone who was one of the carriers of your bounty and, uh, well we followed him. Turns out he was part of the local guild and we were able to persuade them to drop it, so everything is ok!”

“Yes, everything is just fine.” Said a new voice, and Muzan turned toward the door to see two new people walk in. The woman who had spoken looked like an Earth Genasi, and she gave a sharp look at the barkeep. The man quickly hopped to, ushered out any loitering customers, and exited with them, shutting the door behind him.

“So, let’s see what this is all about?” she said, and the person next to her gestured, casting some spell.

Orianna looked like she had shrugged off some magical effect and she drew her rapier, pointing it at the earth genasi. The person next to her gestured again and looked frustrated.

Seeing her try again Muzan summoned the glaive and leveled it at the woman. “What is your business here?” he said threateningly. Just as suddenly he felt a blade at his throat. He looked to his right and the earth genasi woman was standing there holding a sword, but she was also still standing at the door. A magical twin?

The woman at the door continued to speak, “Look, my patience is very thin today. I need to determine if this bounty is legitimate or not. They’re trying to make sure you’re telling the truth.” The woman said this towards Orianna. There was a tense moment before Orianna lowered her rapier and nodded. Muzan unsummoned his weapon once he saw Orianna submit.

“Alright then,” she said.

The caster once more gestured in the air and nodded to the earth genasi to indicate that it had worked.

“So." the woman began, "Are you running from the Soroccean League?”

“Yes.”

“Are you running from bondage?”

“.........yes.”

The woman cursed, “Then we’re done here. My name is Iris, and I’m the guild master for the Vexed and Valiant guild. This contract is null. Slavery is fucking _illegal_ in these parts and they know it. It’s still early so the post will not have been up very long, but we’ll notify our people that they are not to pursue it.”

Iris and the person with her turned to leave. The genasi's twin next to Muzan followed, walking through him and making him shiver as he felt a strange cold wash over him, and then disappeared inside of Iris.

After they left the bartender returned from outside, reopened everything, and pretended like nothing had happened.

“Well, that turned out pretty good for you,” Sol commented. Orianna glared at him and pointed a finger at All Smite.

“Listen here, don’t you ever do that again. That was Very. Stupid. And don’t use my _name_ when you know there’s a _bounty_ for me.” Every word was dripping with barely concealed anger. All Smite looked a bit embarrassed.

“Yeah All Smite, that was pretty dumb.” Sol told him matter-of-factly, and All Smite started blustering.

“What? But you were the one who wanted me to talk to them! I thought things went rather well!”

“This time they did.” Orianna quipped, “But next time? Just _dont_.”

“Okay….then what should I call you?”

“I don’t really care, just don’t use my real name.”

All Smite agreed and they all discussed their next move. Since Rin had completed his business for the day in MISFA and they weren’t officially open until the following day, they all decided to look for Dorian in the northwest section of the city.

They walked through the different city wards, each one different from the next, until they reached ward 2, the Northwest Residential Ward. It was the poorest area Muzan had seen in the city thus far. Broken down areas everywhere. As they walked there were several different small temples that had been erected by the people. Muzan noticed some were dedicated to Bahamut and others to Moradin that they passed. There were some more dangerous looking people here.

Looking at how run down everything was, All Smite wondered aloud how the rich people of the city could allow such depravity and why couldn’t they share in their wealth. Muzan, Orianna, and the others laughed at his naivety. “Selfish people like them do not think of the plights of others,” Muzan told him.

They were able to find the first place Aidaan had mentioned, The Broken Sword tavern. Walking in it seemed like an average place, there were quite a few people present even though it was still pretty early in the day, including one large figure sitting at the bar. It was a giant humanoid figure covered in white fur. He had a grey-blue complexion, and large floppy ears. Muzan figured that he would be around 8 ft tall standing up. He had striking green eyes, and he wore a breastplate, a sword, and a shield.

One of the patrons started to get rowdy and the giant creature turned and looked at him sternly. The man immediately quieted down, looking sheepish.

The group approached the bar and Muzan flagged down the bartender, ordering an ale. “I’m looking for someone named Dorian, have you heard of him?” Muzan asked. The bartender hesitated for a second before replying that he didn’t know anyone by that name. Muzan studied his face, the man was clearly lying, but why?

The ale was only a few copper pieces but Muzan took out a silver, placed it on the bar and slid it forward, smiling. “Are you sure? I really need to find him.” The bartender took the silver, sighed, and looked at the white firbolg.

The firbolg got up, towering above everyone, and slowly lumbered toward Muzan. He took a step back, not sure if he was about to be pummeled into the ground or thrown out. “You’re looking for Dorian?” he asked in a deep voice.

“Yes, we heard he was looking for people for a job.” Muzan replied.

“Hrmmmmm a'right. Follow me.” and he walked over to a hallway that had some private rooms. Muzan shrugged at the rest of the group and asked if anyone else was coming. Sol and Dracotaurus took a seat at the bar while the rest followed.

He led them to a room towards the end of the hall and gestured inside saying “Dorian, got some people for you.” As they walked down the hall a woman left that same room, cursing back at it and shoving past them.

Muzan walked in and saw a man sitting at the table. He was relaxed and there was a satchel on the table in front of him. He wore a wide-brimmed hat, had dark blue skin, long shaggy hair with a silvery grey streak in the front, pointed ears, and soft blue-grey eyes. _Odd, I thought dark elves usually had red eyes?_ As the man smiled Muzan caught a glimpse of fangs. Even sitting, the man looked about 6 ft tall.

As they sat down at his table he greeted them and introduced himself as Dorian Latann, Captain of the Ladyhawke. He pointed at the firbolg and said his name was Atton, his first mate. As for the job, he was looking for an item that was taken by an old business partner. It was in the caverns to the north of the city. Dorian's tone had a bite to it when he said the words 'business partner'. Clearly they did not get along. Dorian was short and to the point, but also a bit too vague.

Muzan was skeptical and asked who this 'old business partner’ was. Dorian told them that his “asshole ex-partner’s” name was Cameros Frey. Orianna asked him how they would know what the item looked like and what it was. He responded that it was a magical item, a necklace. Big and bright, hard to miss. All they had to do was bring it back and they would be allowed passage on his ship.

It didn’t seem like Dorian was a criminal, but he was hard to read. They asked him a few more questions and learned that the Ladyhawke is fast and quiet. Dorian looked at Muzan's hands, "Well, you look like you've had some experience." 

"Yes...I have."

"And what about the rest?" Dorian eyed Rin in particular. "You're small enough you could be a powder monkey..." 

The others murmured noncommittally, they had not been sailing before. "They all have their own talents, I'm sure they can be of use," he told Dorian confidently.

Dorian nodded, "Well then, where do you want to go?"

“Have you ever been to the Vespan Isles?” Muzan asked him.

“Indeed I have! It was a lovely place.”

“The Isle of Sabina….that’s where I need to go.”

Dorian ran a finger along the rim of his glass, face neutral, “I know it. I’ve heard things recently, pirates. The island is being attacked. Burned, murdered, enslaved…” and he leveled his gaze at Muzan.

Muzan felt a chill run down his spine. He found it hard to breathe all of a sudden, faintly he said, “Burned?”

“Yes, I’ve heard of reinforcements but it might all be burnt by the time we arrive. But, I have no problem taking you there.”

Orianna looked at Muzan, “There still might be time,” she said reassuredly. He tried to get ahold of himself but still felt the panic threatening to take over. Murdering? Enslaving? _Oh gods what have I done?! Will they even be alive still?_

Dorian gave them a few more details, the cave was roughly a three-day journey north, and there were probably quite a few bounties on the other people hiding out there that would be fair game.

"And what about you, do you have any bounties?" Muzan asked him, guarded.

Dorian just chuckled at that, "No, I do not. _I_ am not a criminal. There's a reason he's my _ex_ -partner." As he explained this they saw another figure approach from the hallway.

It was a human woman, the one who shoved past them earlier. She barged into the room asking Dorian “What the _fuck_ have you done this time?” She had short-cropped hair, hazel eyes, and a slight figure. He put his hands up in an appeasing gesture and introduced her as Caitlyn, but before he could go any further she punched him in the ribs, interrupting his words with a grunt of pain.

“I told you my name is Kat! You better wrap things up, there’s two more looking for you!” 

Dorian began to usher them out, but it was too late as two more people came towards them and he cursed, lowering his head so the hat covered his face. Kat grabbed Atton and they both walked away. The two people barged into the room and claimed that they were looking for a drow. They said that he fucked over their friend and wanted some payback.

Muzan, Orianna, All Smite, Rin, and Kharbek all looked confused at him. “What do you mean?” Orianna said coyly, “It’s just us here, I see no drow”

“Yes, I do not know this man you’re searching for. I suggest you search elsewhere,” and as Dorian said this he lifted his head and Muzan saw that his face had completely changed to that of a random human man.

The two ruffians didn’t seem to believe them, and acted like they were about to draw their weapons when everything was suddenly shrouded in darkness. Muzan heard one of the men say “Shit!” before he heard two roars, like lightning striking, followed by two thuds.

The darkness dissipated and Muzan saw that the two men were dead on the floor. Dorian stood up then, and Muzan noticed two holsters on his hips. One held a strange-looking book, the other held something Muzan was not familiar with. It was small, dark, and made of metal.

Rin gasped excitedly, pointing at the item. "Oooh I know what that is! I've worked on those before!" He reached out almost as if to touch it but Dorian lightly slapped his hands out of the way.

"Yes, Sweet Evelyn, and she's mine and mine alone."

"What were those men talking about?" Muzan asked him.

"Ha, I won some money from their friend in a game. I wasn't even cheating _that_ time, haha."

"So you didn't cheat?" Orianna said playfully.

“No, but to them, it was quite a lot of money and they did not take kindly to losing."

"But you killed them! Did you have to kill them?" interjected All Smite. _Couldn't you see that they were about to do the same to us?_ Muzan wondered to himself.

"Yes, and they were about to kill me. I took care of them first. So, shall we shake on it?” he asked them, waiting expectantly.

“Once we do this, where should we meet?” Orianna asked.

“We can meet on your boat!” Rin said excitedly.

Dorian laughed, “Well that depends on how long you take.”

They calculated that it might take around 8-9 days, given that there were still things they wanted to do in the city, and Dorian nodded and told them that around days 8-10 he would be at the Carnation Apparition in the Eastern part of the city.

Rin then shook Dorian’s hand before any of the others could react, and he left them there. As they rejoined Sol and Dracotaurus, Atton approached them with a word of caution. He told them to do their research before heading to Mariner’s Cove, and that there were dangerous creatures there besides the quarry they were seeking, though he did not know the word for what they were called. Rin held up Xija his axolotl familiar and asked if it looked like her, and Atton nodded saying they were a bit like that.

He wished them luck, told them not to die, and then they were by themselves in the bar, preparing for their journey north.

Sol seemed to ponder on Atton's words for a while. He then informed them that based on what he's heard of the Mariner's Cove area and Atton's description, it sounded like the creatures Atton warned them about were Basilisks. Sol described what he knew about basilisks and Muzan shuddered. Turning into stone did not sound like the best way to die.

They split off into two groups. Sol returned to MISFA with Rin to do some research on basilisks and see what kind of magical items Rin could make. The rest visited various shops in the Freedon Nadd Ward, otherwise known as the 'Tinkerer's Ward'. They were able to find out little about basilisks but learned that the blood can be used to cure the petrification that they could inflict. So they bought a few empty vials on the off chance they slew one, some healing potions to replenish their supplies, and also managed to procure a map of the lands between Free Harbor and StonesHold.

They all met back at the Fox & Fox Pub to eat and plan for their journey, deciding to stay at the rooms there since it was a relatively safe area. After eating Orianna announced that she had somewhere she wanted to go. When they asked if she was going alone (after all they had a rule saying not to go anywhere alone) she looked at All Smite with an impish grin and asked if he would go with her. He stood tall and said that of course he would go with her to keep her safe from any fiends that might try to set upon them. She just chuckled and invited anyone who wished to come along with them, saying that it was going to be somewhere fun and that they shouldn't eat too much. In the end only All Smite and Dracotaurus went with her.

_An odd request...._ Muzan watched as they left after the meal was done. Rin looked after them as well, "I wonder why she thought they shouldn't eat much." he asked Sol, Muzan, and Kharbek. They were all sitting together, each with their respective drinks.

"Yes, I am quite curious myself, but I think I'd rather stay in and rest." Muzan said, taking a drink.

Sol agreed with him, "Yeah. We have a long walk tomorrow. Probably should stick to one ale tonight."

Muzan looked down at his drink and nodded, one should be enough. "Hmm, you're probably right. I'm sure a smoke won't hurt anything though." and he took out his pipe and prepared it.

"I want to go see what they are up to but it makes me nervous. I think I am going to wait a little longer before I go to something like that." Rin continued on.

"Something like what? Did you hear where they were going?" Sol asked.

"I heard the term 'brothel'" Rin replied, getting serious and shifting a bit awkwardly.

_A brothel? Her?_

"Oh gods. She brought All Smite." Sol said before bursting out into laughter.

The thought of All Smite in a brothel did indeed sound very funny, and Muzan couldn't help but laugh along. Sol was laughing so hard that he accidentally fell out of his chair.

Rin, still serious, piped up again, "I do know what a brothel is."

Sol pulled himself up from the floor, "Oh Rin, you don't want to know yet."

"Do you?" Muzan asked him, "How do you know that?" Muzan didn't have a positive or negative opinion on brothels. He had seen plenty when he was with the Shadow Raiders, but he had never gone inside any of them. 

"Bu-...but I'm curious" Rin persisted.

"Wait 'till you're older," Sol told him.

"My brother spent a fair bit of time in a brothel."

"Hehe, did he now? What did he do?" Sol asked.

"Curiosity is natural, but a place like that...might want to wait a year." Muzan responded.

Rin nodded to Muzan, "Yeah. I know I'm not ready right now. I think once I'm an adult I'll be ready."

Muzan then remembered Rin talking about his birthday, "But I guess you did mention your birthday is coming up?"

"Yeah. I've kind of been waiting. I never got to follow him in but I always wanted to." Rin responded to Muzan again, still avoiding answering Sol's last question.

This did not go unnoticed by Sol. "Kid, are you sure he was working there? Not just visiting?"

"He definitely worked in the mines. My moms didn't really like that he went there. They said 'You can't pay for love.'"

Sol started laughing again.

"What's so funny?" Rin asked him, getting a bit flustered.

But all Sol could get out between the laughter was "I cant... it's so bad..."

Muzan felt sympathy for Rin's brother, "Your moms were right I think."

"UGH - my moms are always right and it's so annoying."

Muzan chuckled at Rin's pouting, "Haha, that is also true. Ehh, from what I've seen a brothel is a place that people go to to have....some fun." He felt a bit awkward himself, he wasn't expecting that he would have to give Rin that kind of talk. He needed more drink for this.

"I like fun." Rin responded.

"No no no," Sol cut in still laughing, "you don't want to go to one."

"I'm sure you like fun Rin but it is...fun with the company of....ahh...." He found himself floundering for words. Did he really not know what they were talking about?

"We need to tell-hahaha, we need to tell him how they're bad....or he's gonna go!" The last few words each raised up in pitch, Sol barely got them out before dissolving once more into fits of laughter. "There's mean ladies there, Rin, _mean ladies_."

"My brother didn't say that-...that they were mean." Rin retorted.

"Your brother was too stupid to realize that there are mean ladies there, ok?" Sol continued on.

"He was kind of stupid..."

"Wait, what do you mean Sol?" Muzan had not really heard of 'mean ladies' at them. He'd heard quite the opposite actually. The look on Sol's face when he said that let him know that he had said the wrong thing.

"No, hahahaha, I'm trying to talk him into not going!"

"Oh! Uhhh....." Muzan desperately tried to think of something else to say to convince Rin not to go to a brothel yet.

"I mean, I'm not gonna go...at least for a while. But like...it's fun, I'm told, and I like fun..."

"This is different, this isn't fun for everyone." Sol told him.

"This is adult fun." Muzan added.

"Wh-..how do I...yeah and when I'm an adult-" Rin stammered, grasping for the right words.

"Then you can do whatever you want," Muzan gently told him.

"Yeah! That's all I'm...that's all I'm sayin..." Rin finished, looking a bit put out.

"Did your moms ever give you a talk?" Muzan gingerly asked, really not wanting to know the answer.

"What talk?" Rin asked him. "My mom talked a lot!"

"No no no, we're not doing that!" Sol weakly said, still trying not to laugh and failing.

Muzan put his hands up to Sol, "I am not going to I just want to know!" _The poor kid's old enough that he should know this by now!_

"Like....what talk?" Rin asked them again.

"About.....ehh.....relationships..." Muzan felt himself floundering again. _I wonder if this is how my parents felt..._

"...yeah my moms talked about relationships a lot," Rin said incredulously.

"Al-alright..." He didn't know what else to say at that point and was about to give up entirely.

"Are you talking about sex?" Rin suddenly asked, finally seeming to make the connection.

"Gods damn it..." Sol cursed.

"Yeah my moms taught me about sex, I _know_ what it is."

"Well that's what brothels are for" both Muzan and Sol answered him in unison.

"I-I.....I mean I'm not _stupid_ I kinda figured that out." Rin told them.

Kharbek who had been silently listening to their conversation interjected at that point, "Yeah but it's more transactional."

"Yeah I don't know if that's-....I don't know...", and Rin grabbed his cup, leaned back, and fell quiet. He looked pensive.

Muzan could visibly see the cogs turning in his head, "I see that you are thinking but I am worried what kind of conclusion you will come to."

Rin tapped on his glass, still thinking very hard but not saying anything.

"You can have some very strange conclusions so I am curious." Muzan continued.

Rin kept tapping for a little longer. "Well...is sex for love or is it for fun?" he finally asked. _Ah, there it is..._

"Yes." Kharbek said.

"Both." Was Sol's reply.

"It can be both." Muzan told him as well.

Rin seemed frustrated with their answers. "But that's.... _so_ much harder than if it's just one or the other."

"It's hard either way." Kharbek told him.

"It _can_ be one or the other, but it can also be both at the same time." Muzan said.

"Is it wrong to do it for just one?" Rin asked them.

"No." Sol told him.

"I wouldn't think so." Muzan did not think it mattered if someone had sex for one reason or the other, as long as it was their choice to do so.

"Hmm," Rin seemed to ponder their words.

"Philosophically no." Kharbek's added on after he had thought for a second.

At last, it seemed like Rin had come to a conclusion. "Someday I might go to a brothel for just fun then," he announced.

"Ok." Sol replied, downing the rest of his drink.

"I'm sure you will find what you're looking for," Muzan told him. Rin looked thoughtful, but he simply nodded at Muzan's answer. Then Muzan got up to step outside and smoke for a bit, thinking of the odd conversation he just had.

_Never thought I would have to talk to a 17-year-old about sex and brothels.... At least not until I had one of my own._ He then became lost in his thoughts, thinking about what life would have been like if he had stayed with Emeline. Smoking his pipe and wondering if he would have had a conversation like that with his own potential offspring. He shook his head at the thought, chuckling. He returned inside once he saw Orianna, All Smite, and Dracotaurus returning.

They each retired to their rooms that night. Rin shared a room with All Smite while the others opted for their own rooms. Muzan spotted Kharbek going to his room with the pretty dwarf apothecary that they had met earlier that day. Before he headed up to his own room Orianna stopped him, asking if he would like to share with her. Knowing where she had just returned from that night he looked at her suspiciously for a second. "Are you worried someone still saw..." and he gestured to convey a bounty notice.

"It's possible. We were warned that this ward might not be safe yet." was her reply.

Once he saw that it was simply like their previous arrangement in Alderton he nodded, saying "That is true, some people may have seen it...probably...I can lay out a bedroll on the floor."

"Thank you," she said, and he led her up to the room he had purchased for the night.

Before sleep he decided to record his thoughts in the small journal he had been keeping since he’d left home. He was so absorbed in his writing that he didn’t notice Orianna peering curiously over his shoulder.

"Hmm, interesting letters. What language is that?" Her unexpected question made him jump and curse in Vespan. He thought she was already sleeping.

"Letters? Oh, you mean this. It's nothing much, just a...record of my travels?"

"Aaaahh, a journal. Splendid idea."

"This is what we speak back home. It is...a bit different from here, haha." _At least I don’t have to worry about her reading it, there’s no way she knows this language,_ he thought to himself.

Orianna looked curious, "Hmm... well, if we ever get the time, I'd like to learn. Languages are fun, and useful to know."

_.....shit_ "That is true....it would not be a bad idea, especially if we are heading that way. Are you a quick learner?"

"I like to think so. I've been told I am."

"Told by who?" _Your slave masters?_ He left that unsaid, not wishing to anger her.

"The people in my troupe."

"...were they nice people?" _Did they treat you well?_

"They were very nice people."

"That is good, it would be fun to see your troupe perform someday. I don't think I've had the opportunity to see something like that."

"I hope to meet up with them again. Some day. They're some of the best people I've ever known."

Muzan cocked an eyebrow and smiled, "Best people you've ever known? Well, now I have to see them."

"Yes, considering I've not known very many good people. They were very enjoyable to be around. Very musical and artistic."

His words caught in his throat. He felt the urge to apologize, not knowing the hardships she’d been through, and his lips started forming the words when he stopped himself. They were not close enough, he was sure it would only make her angry and defensive as she had been with All Smite. All he could say was, ".....there are not enough good people like that."

"No. There really aren't."

His thoughts turned to the good people from his home, and he put his head in his hands and breathed a deep sigh before saying, "Well, rest well."

"You too,” and she grabbed the covers and brought them up to her chin, her back to the wall, surveying the room as she fell asleep.

He continued to write in his journal for a while, noting the different strange places and people he had met, the strange conversations he'd had. A couple spots dotted the page as tears dripped down his face, leaving his chin to collect on his notes. At that moment he wished he was back at sea, climbing up the mast to be alone with the fresh breeze and the stars in the sky. He set his journal aside and put his face in his hands, unable to stop the flow of tears. He thought of his parents and Emeline in the hands of pirates or slaughtered in their homes and his heart clenched in his chest. He did not know which would be worse to come home to.

He put out the light he was using and curled up in his bedroll, hiding his face under the blanket as he cried as silently as he could while he was falling asleep. All of the fear and doubt that he had been pushing down surged forward. He let the emotions wash over him. He hoped Orianna was already sleeping and not aware of it. Either she hadn't heard him or she didn't let him know that she had.

Before his dreams finally took him, he vowed to himself that no matter what happened he would not stop until he had carved out Nash's heart with the very blade Nash had given him.


	3. Into Mariner's Cove

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What the party finds in Mariner's Cove is not quite what they expected and certainly not what it appeared to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, uh, writing a battle that has seven people is hard. Wow.

The journey to Mariner’s Cove went by with no issues, the map Muzan procured helped ease their journey quite a bit. It only took them three days to get there. To get into the cove they had to traverse a narrow cliff’s edge that then opened up into the cove. There were a couple of close calls but luckily no one fell the 20 feet down to the rocky waves below. 

Rounding the corner to the inlet that led into the cove they all froze as they found themselves looking straight down the sights of a ballista set up opposite of the entrance. They prepared to dodge out of the way of incoming bolts, only to see that it was unmanned. The group slowly crept inside, careful to make no sound, looking for any signs of men or beasts. It was completely silent. There was nothing but the sound of the waves crashing on the rocks.

They continued around the precarious cliff until they reached an opening where they could enter the cove properly. It was dark, and so far they had not run into any living creatures. They entered an area with a few canoes and looked around for any signs of life. Over in the distance was what looked like a campsite and a very large cage, though it was hard for Muzan to see inside. He looked over and saw Orianna looking at it irately. “What is it?”

“...there’s someone in that cage.” She muttered as they all hid behind an outcropping of rocks.

Muzan’s face darkened. “We need to free them.” Before those bastards return...

“Hopefully it’s not a trap.”

“It could always be a trap. We should search this area for anyone else before we try to free them.” _It would be strange for it not to be a trap, either way they should be freed!_  
He scanned the area that he could see, but their position did not grant a good view of the clearing with the camp. There were too many rocks to hide behind. “We need to check the ground to see if there’s anything, any sort of alarms.”

They heard Rin pipe up from where he was hidden inside one of the canoes, “I can talk to their mind if I can get within thirty feet of them!”

 _I feel like that might scare them more than anything…_ Muzan thought.

They heard the whimpering grow a bit louder, and a feminine voice called out from the cage. “Hello? Is-is-s there someone out there?”

Rin looked like he was about to answer when Orianna cut him off, “Don’t say anything. Don’t be hasty. We can get them out of there.”

Rin looked frustrated, but he stayed silent. They discussed ways to scout the area and who should be the ones to venture forth. It was unanimously agreed upon that Kharbek, All Smite, and Dracotaurus should wait near the canoes while the others investigated. Their armor made too much noise for any sort of stealth operation.

Sol scouted the area north of the cage and discovered that there was a small cabin further in the cavern. There were no windows, but there was also no light creeping out from under the door. While Sol started to investigate the lock on the door, Rin went over to take a look at the ballista. He studied the contraption for a few minutes, then his face lit up as he realized how similar it was to machines he had worked on in his hometown. Rin started methodically taking apart the ballista, nimble fingers knowing exactly where to push small parts or fold joints.

Muzan crept closer to the camp in the middle of the cavern, looking for anything on the ground around the cage. Orianna followed behind him at a distance. There were barrels and random objects strewn about, but no creatures in sight. He turned his attention to the form inside the cage.

He could see a malnourished woman chained inside. She was wearing the tattered remains of what used to be a very fine dress. Possibly someone from a noble house. He didn’t know how long she had been in there, but it had to have been several days at least. On top of being malnourished there was soot on her face and it looked like she was covered in her own filth. Seeing no one else in sight, he came out of his hiding place and slowly walked towards the cage, trying to look as unassuming as possible. _I doubt that this will help much, she’s probably terrified out of her mind._ He softly called out to her to get her attention. She stirred and looked up at him, then immediately backed as far away from him as the cage would allow with her eyes wide in terror.

“Please no, please, please stop!” She cried out.

He put his hands up, taking a few cautious steps as if he was approaching a wild animal. “I am here to help you.” He spoke as quietly as he could, eyes darting around for any signs of an ambush.

“Please...please stop.” The woman couldn’t say anything else. She kept her head lowered, looking at the ground and trying to pretend that Muzan was not there. _Of course she’s terrified. I look like a terrible demon to her I’m sure._ Muzan nervously looked back at Orianna and waved her over. “What do you see?” she asked him. He quietly told her about the woman in the cage and she crept up next to him. _She might respond better to someone that doesn’t remind her of the men who kept her here…._

Upon seeing Orianna the woman still looked frightened but didn’t say anything more, backing herself up into the farthest corner of the cage and looking as submissive as possible. Orianna watched the woman’s reactions carefully, wary of any falsehood, but she could see no indication that her actions were fake. 

Muzan scanned the area around the cage and did not see any sort of trap. He then looked over at Orianna and saw how upset she looked. He imagined this must be a familiar sight for her. He felt his own anger sparking as he thought of his own experiences with cages. “How long have you been here?” He tried again, but she remained unresponsive. He looked over at Orianna and shrugged. There was nothing he could do. He did not want to force anything on the poor woman. 

They both still felt that it could be a trap, the woman could unknowingly be bait for any bounty hunters like their group.

“Maybe you could talk to her?” he asked her, wondering if she would respond better to another woman.

“Alright…” she agreed, and she slowly walked closer to the cage. Muzan kept his distance as Orianna called out softly to the woman to find out how she came to be there.

“We’re not here to hurt you. What happened here?”

The woman looked at Orianna, “Wha-wha...what was the question? ...sorry.”

“What happened here? Why are you here?”

The woman started speaking in a trembling voice, “They took me from town and, uh, said they were gonna sell me...they kept me here for a long time and they were gonna make a big prize of something….some sort of...something they were gonna find here….kill something and take it and then they were going to sail off with me. Then they didn’t come back..... It’s been a few days.”

Orianna cautiously approached the cage, still aware of her surroundings, and noticed that the cage was very old. It had been there for a lot longer than this group of bandits had. She continued to try and comfort the woman.

Muzan looked at the rusty lock on the cage and went to find Sol. He seemed to have nimble fingers and Muzan had seen him work a lockpick before. He found Sol exiting the now open door of the small wooden cabin.

“Can you pick a lock?”

“Yeah...why?”

“The cage the woman is in…it’s a simple lock.”

“Oh! Yeah. Yeah I can get that open.”

“...be gentle.”

They both walked over to the cage and Muzan watched as Sol worked at the lock, frowning as he concentrated.

Orianna stood behind Sol impatiently, “What are you doing? Hurry up!”

There was a loud *ting!* as one of the lockpicks almost broke. Sol turned around and looked at Orianna with mild frustration, “Can you just step back a little bit, please?”

She shrugged and moved around the cage a little so she was still by the woman.

“Thank you.” Sol continued to try to open the lock but there was another metallic noise followed by a frustrated sigh.

Orianna walked over to him again and put her hand out towards him, “Can I see them? Maybe I can do something.”

“No, no. These are mine, I’m gonna try one more time.” This time, after several minutes, there was a satisfying click as the lock opened and they were able to open the cage. 

As soon as the door started to swing open, the woman inside exclaimed in fear, “No no no no no no no!”

“What’s wrong?” Orianna asked her. Sol backed away from the cage, grabbing Muzan as he did so. They both retreated several feet as Orianna stayed by the woman’s side.

The woman stammered incoherently, with a shocked expression on her face. Orianna reached a hand out towards her and she immediately grasped onto it, rushing forward as Orianna pulled her into a protective hug. Orianna stroked the woman’s hair and felt how thin she was. Orianna gently kissed her forehead as the woman buried her face in Orianna’s shoulder.

“Can you tell me what happened?” She carefully asked the woman. 

“They took me from my family while I was out. They took me here. I don’t know how many days it’s been. I know that....at least four since they left? They went deeper in. They were gonna kill that thing. There’s a beast in there. I thought I heard some noise maybe but then they never came back.”

“What did they call this beast? Did they call it by any name?”

“They called it by many nicknames, I don’t know.”

“What were the nicknames?”

“Th-they called it ‘Willy’, they called ‘im ‘Beastie’, they called it ‘Fuckface’. They were basically making a big joke out of it like it’d be no big deal.”

“Ok...you’re not gonna like what I say to you….but you need to stay here and keep your head low. Let me see if we can find a safer place for you--”

“No no no no no no no I need to stay wh-…don't make me stay here.”

“Okay.” The woman’s grip on Orianna’s arms was strong as iron, fueled by her fear. She turned to Sol and nodded toward the small windowless cabin. "Sol, what’s in that structure over there?”

He quickly explained that it was a small cabin that looked abandoned. He described what little was in there but he kept his distance, not wanting to spook the woman even more.

“Is there a place where she can stay safe in there while we go do what we need to do?”

“Yeah, I mean it’s old but it’s still standing.”

As soon as she asked the question though Orianna felt the woman begin shaking.

“Ah, nevermind. That won't work.” She looked down at the woman in her arms, “We need you to be somewhere safe, what is your name?”

“My name’s Rebecca. Rebecca Ironholt.”

“Where are you from Rebecca?”

“I’m from Stonehold. Family ’s rock cutters…”

As Orianna continued asking the woman about herself, Rin had finished breaking the ballista completely down into a portable form. He took a second to view his handiwork, nodded in satisfaction, and took his prize to show the others. Seeing Orianna first, he walked over towards her and the open cage, unaware of the woman cowering in her arms. Upon seeing Rin approaching and his small stature, the woman was curious at first. Then that curiosity turned to slight horror as she noticed how goblin-like his features were.

“Oh! Uh...hi.” He nodded to the woman, “I found this!” He brandished the case that the ballista had turned into showing it off to them both.

Orianna looked at it curiously, “You...you dismantled _that_? And it ended up like _that_?” 

“Yup! It is...they didn’t know how to deal with this. Whoever we’re dealing with is stupid!” He stood there for a second, laughing at the bandits for not realizing what a prize this ballista was, “This is really cool...what’s your name?” he asked Rebecca.

As he addressed her Rebecca shrank into Orianna’s arms even more. “It’s ok,” Orianna reassured her.

“I’m sorry….I’m Rin, hi!”

“Hi…..what are you? Are you a goblin?” Rebecca timidly asked him.

“Oh...ummmmm, no?”

“......do you eat people?”

“No! Haha, I’ve never eaten a person and I don’t have any desire to eat a person.”

“Ok…”

“I like people!”

“He’s a very nice person” Orianna added on.

Seeing the tension easing a bit, Muzan called out to Orianna, still keeping his distance, “Does she know what they looked like? So we can hunt them down.”

Orianna nodded, “What did the men look like Rebecca?”

Rebecca bit her lip and shakily started to speak, “Well there was, uh, one of them he had one eye. Scar on his lip. Scruff on his face. Blue eyes. Like, crazy person blue eyes. The rest of them had tattoos…” She went on to give simple but detailed descriptions of different tattoos and eye colors that then devolved into a rambling mess.

“And how many?”

“All together there were thirteen.” 

As Muzan and Sol listened to her descriptions they confirmed that it all matched the bounties that they had received.

Orianna brought Rebecca’s face up to hers so she could look at her, “You can’t stay here, it’s not safe.”

“Where am I supposed to go?”

Rin spoke up then, “Would you feel more comfortable coming with us? Or would you feel more comfortable...maybe we could set up our tent for you up on….like up above?”

Rebecca nodded as Rin talked about coming with the group, and immediately started shaking her head when he mentioned setting up a tent.

“Ok!” he said, seeing her preference towards the first option.

Orianna spoke up again, “Well, we’re going after the men that did this to you….you want to come with us?”

“It’s going to be dangerous..” Rin interjected.

“It’s safer than going outside…” she answered them both.

“You know it’s dangerous….we can hide you....” Orianna added.

Hearing the indecision in Orianna’s voice, Muzan spoke up once more, “If she wants to stay close we could always keep her close to us. It would be safer than her being by herself.” _It would be easier to protect her if we can see her._

Rin nodded and looked at Rebecca, “Yeah, I think you really should come with us. Guys, we need to protect her!”

“I agree.” Muzan said.

Orianna seemed to think about it a bit before finally saying, “.....alright.” There didn’t seem to be any safer options at the moment.

There was a moment of quiet as they all processed the situation, then Orianna called over to where Kharbek and the rest were waiting, calling him over to them. Kharbek walked over, and Rebecca shrank back a little as he got closer to them.

“Hold on Rebecca I want….I just...just let him look you over, I want to make sure you’re not injured. Can you look at her Kharbek? See if she’s ok?”

Kharbek carefully checked her out for any injuries, seeing her emaciated form but otherwise untouched.

“It looks like she just needs a good meal. I don’t know what else happened but the rest is psychological. I’d say a little food and water and she’ll be on her way.”

“Food and water eh? I can offer some of my rations to her.” All Smite lumbered over as well.

 _Psychological?_ Muzan had seen both Kharbek and All Smite do healing before, he wondered if they might be able to help calm her down. “Is there anything you can do to restore her...her mind a bit?”

All Smite looked uncertain at that question, “Nnn, I haven’t….tried to use my powers to heal the mind. I wouldn’t want to frighten her too much if I put my hands too close to her head, I just want to make sure that she is okay first.”

Orianna looked on sadly, “Nothing I can do, unfortunately. If I could heal psychological damage I would....”

Seeing that so many people had walked over, Rebecca started to panic, “Who...who are you people? There’s so many of you….”

All Smite pulled out an apple from his bag and offered it to her, saying “It’s ok! We’re here to help you.” As he stepped forward she immediately stepped back. All Smite held his hands up as she did so, trying to seem unthreatening.

“Who **are** you people! What are your _names?_ ”

“I’m Rin!” Rin waved at her cheerfully.

“Where did you come---Why are you _here_? Can you get me out of here?”

“We’re here chasing those bandits.” Orianna told her.

Muzan nodded, “Yes, we came seeking those men.”

“Ok good, good…”

“Have they done something to you?” All Smite asked her.

“They’ve done a lot to me. Um…” Her breathing became a bit more labored, “I just don’t want to be alone here anymore…umm”

“You don’t have to be alone, we can help you…” Rin responded.

“I mean I’d be content to just follow, even at a distance. I just don’t...they said that they were hunting these beasts and I just don’t….it is a comfort and a torment being in there, and now I don’t know what to do…”

Rin rummaged in his bag for a little bit and pulled out a boomerang, holding it up to her. “Here, you can use this to protect yourself! Just don’t lose it, I’ve lost it before and it’s a pain to find.”

“I….thank you?”

“You’re welcome!” and he took a few steps back to give her space.

They all looked at each other grimly, the daylight was fading and it was time to do what they had come here for. “Let’s hunt,” Muzan said, itching to get his hands on the men that did this to her. Sol walked ahead, looking for any tracks that they could have left behind. He easily found quite a number of them leading further into the cave.

Orianna offered her hand to Rebecca and the woman took it, sticking close to her.

It was approaching dusk and it was hard to see any distance in the cave for those who could not see in the dark. All Smite cast a spell and a light appeared in his hands.

Before going any deeper Muzan asked the others if it would be a good idea to use a small mirror to look around corners in case they ran into any of the beasts they had heard of. Sol agreed and mentioned that there was a bigger mirror in the cabin that he had searched. He went back into the cabin and grabbed the mirror, holding it as he walked. He then froze as he heard the sounds of gravel crunching and running feet to the right of their position. He held up a hand to stop the rest and quietly told them what he heard, pointing out the direction.

Muzan summoned his glaive as they all prepared their weapons, looking in the indicated direction. He scanned the area and noticed a small tent in the darkness a bit farther down. Then he noticed the body lying next to it. He wondered if it was one of the men that they were searching for, but he decided to check it later once they made sure the area was safe.

He heard Rin's voice in his head saying, _"That's fucking cool!"_. Muzan turned to look at Rin watching him, he grinned and did a fancy flourish with the glaive as Rin looked on astonished.

Sol slowly crept forward, ahead of the others and moving silently so that the only sounds heard were the strange crunching up ahead. As the others still stayed behind, All Smite positioned himself near Kharbek and Rebecca, hoping to shield her from any oncoming threats.

“Why do you want me there?” Rin suddenly asked. They all looked back at him curiously. He had moved a few feet away from everyone else, standing near a group of rocks.

“Rin, what are you talking about?” both Orianna and Muzan asked him simultaneously. 

“Umm, our friend told me to stand right here.”

“Who?”

“Which friend?”

“Uh-Rebe--the new one!”

“Oh, sorry.” The two of them and All Smite heard him say, though it didn’t seem to be directed at them.

Orianna and Muzan both turned and looked at Rebecca. Orianna asked Rebecca what Rin meant but the woman shrugged and said, “I--I have no idea.” Though it was strange, Orianna could detect no deception in the woman, so she continued to watch and wait for Sol to call for them.

Only half paying attention to the conversation behind him, as Sol looked ahead he froze as he saw the outline of a large creature. In the darkness, it looked like it had scales and Sol could see multiple legs. As he peered at the creature it shifted and Sol suddenly found himself looking into two large, yellow, glowing serpentine eyes. He felt his body start to tense up and his skin started to gain a rocky appearance but he was able to force his gaze away, holding the large mirror he had taken in front of his face while calling back to the others, “Hey...I found one!”

Hearing Sol’s announcement Rebecca crouched down and started cowering, holding herself and crying. All Smite looked down at her, “It’s ok young lady, we’re here to help. You have nothing to fear. As long as you stay safe and behind my shield, you’ll be ok.” Rebecca gave him a shaky smile and he heard a quiet “Thank you”.

Dracotaurus ran forward to Sol, hearing the elf say “There’s a basilisk!” as he joined him. Dracotaurus looked ahead, careful not to make eye contact with the beast, and saw the creature. As he did so he caught a glimpse of a second one to their right that had just come out of hiding. All Smite ran up to join them, his light illuminating the area, and Sol and Dracotaurus both caught the glint of the second basilisks scales reflecting off his armor.

Kharbek held up his hammer, activating a spell that caused a ring he was wearing to glow with divine energy. All Smite looked down and saw that the other ring, which Kharbek had given him, was also glowing with that same protective divine light.

As this was happening, Rin heard a lovely ethereal voice enter his mind and say, _“Oh dearest, wouldn’t you mind picking up that stone over there and tossing it at that dwarf? He’s making me very uncomfortable.”_ He responded aloud with a “Sure!” and there was a surge of powerful magic as a rock that was on the ground near Kharbek suddenly floated in the air and catapulted towards the dwarf, hitting him with a resounding thwack! 

_“Yes, just make sure you defend yourself, honey. Ugh, that nasty, nasty little dwarf with his healing spells. Just….see if you can’t throw a few more rocks at him.”_

Muzan watched as Rin picked up his arm and made a throwing motion, then saw the rock hit Kharbek’s back immediately after. _What is going on??_

Rin shouted out angrily, “You’re making her uncomfortable Kharbek!”

Kharbek turned around to look at Rin angrily, seeing Rin’s hands up in a casting position. Then watched as Rin backed away and got in a defensive position.

Rin’s words confused Muzan even more. _Who is her?_ The only ‘her’ he could think of would be Rebecca. He moved so he could look over to where he last remembered her cowering and saw nothing but a puzzled Orianna who had also been looking for the woman.

“Where did she go?” he asked her.

“She disappeared.” 

“Shit.” Uncertainly he readied himself in case any more basilisks appeared, still keeping an eye out for Rebecca while maintaining a close watch on Rin.

“Rebecca, where’d you go?” Orianna called out, but there was no reply. “...fuck” She then turned in the direction of the basilisks and started whispering, magic carrying her voice over to the creature in front of Sol. The whispers overlapped with each other and the beast cried out in fear and pain, turning to flee the strange sounds.

All Smite, Sol, Dracotaurus, and Kharbek all watched the creature flee. "Ha HA you **should** be scared of us you beast!" All Smite shouted after it. Though Sol shuddered as he heard the familiar whispers float by, remembering his own encounters with that particular spell. Holding the mirror up he walked closer to the basilisk in front of him, peering out from under the edge and seeing the creature's maw with its sharp teeth and long tongue dangling out of it. Luckily the creature was too caught up staring down its own reflection. He could hear the other basilisk moving out of view.

The creature in front of Sol came forward, and lashed out, biting at the image it saw in the mirror and shattering it. All Smite rushed forward and slashed at the beast with his sword, but it struck scales with a loud *clang!* to no avail.

Kharbek, confused about what Rin's problem with him was, saw the basilisks as a greater immediate threat. He moved to the side to get a clear view of it and grasped his holy symbol, calling on the divine energies and sending forth a blinding surge of magic aimed at one of the basilisks. The creature roared as its vision suddenly went dark.

\----------------------------------------

Muzan, still watching for movement, saw something out of the corner of his eye. It was a feminine figure, red skin with a slightly pink hue. She had two horns, a pair of wings, and two cloven hooves. She looked at Rin and said "Dearie wouldn't you mind just lighting things up a little bit, I think that our little red friend could use a bit of chaos." 

Muzan watched as Rin shouted "She doesn't even want your healing spells!" and pointed at him. A bolt of strange colorful light hit the rock, just missing Muzan's head. _Something's not right here..._ He didn't know what this new winged person was, but he had a feeling she had some sort of control over Rin. _This isn't right, Rin wouldn't hurt us like this!_ He turned his attention to her angrily and she smiled coyly at him. He called out "Dracotaurus!" to alert him that something else was attacking, unaware that Dracotaurus was already facing off against the basilisks. He pointed the glaive at her and felt the surge of eldritch energy as he tried to hit her with it, but it went wide and shattered a rock next to her. Cursing under his breath he narrowed his eyes, gesturing again, and dark tendrils curled up around her hooves before disappearing as his hex took hold. 

She smiled and winked at him saying, "Huh, very good. Could be a little better though." 

Orianna, now seeing their new combatant, immediately recognized it as a succubus. "Shit!" She whispered again, using her magic to try and keep the basilisk away. Then she gave Muzan some encouragement, using her magical talent to try to inspire him in his fight against the succubus while the others were entangled with the two basilisks.

The succubus moved towards Muzan and he reacted in surprise, slashing at her with the glaive as she came into range. It cut her but didn't slow her down. She looked down at the gash, took some blood with one of her hands and licked it, sighing "Oh...seems like you really know how to use that. I would **love** to see you use it more...." Her eyes met his and he tried to resist the pull, but they filled his mind.

As the succubus was preoccupied with Muzan, Rin felt her control over him dissipate. He watched as she reached out to Muzan and saw Muzan get caught in her gaze. Suddenly realizing what she had made him do to his friends he was overcome with rage. "You **MOTHERFUCKER!** " Rin roared, angrily pointing at the succubus and sending a ray of frost at her. It struck her in the back, but it looked like it simply gave her a small chill.

She turned and grinned at him, "What is it dear? Didn't you enjoy our time together?"

"Fuck you!" he shouted at her, and he pointed again to send a bolt of shifting colors at her. As it hit there was a thunderous sound and the succubus cried out in pain, doubling over and coughing up blood. Rin then took the chance to make his escape, running over to Kharbek and apologizing, "Sorry, it wasn't me!" Though the dwarf turned to look at Rin with a worried expression, not knowing if he was about to be attacked again.

Muzan heard a cloying voice in his mind. _"Attack the nearest ally, would you kindly?"_ He immediately felt protective towards that voice, like he would do whatever he could to help her. Looking over he saw that the closest person to him was Orianna. Without thinking he raised his hand, glowing with his magenta eldritch energy, and sent it towards her. It struck true and she gasped in surprise, eyes darting between him and the succubus. She ran from him and he swung at her but his glaive sliced the air as she was quick enough to duck out of the way.

\----------------------------------------

Sol, Dracotaurus, and All Smite watched as the basilisk Orianna had attacked continued to flee farther into the cave, hearing a loud *thud* as it ran into one of the rock walls. Sol quickly cast a spell to quicken his stride and ran past the basilisk in front of him to pursue the one that was fleeing, pulling out his bow and shooting an arrow at the one behind him as he got out of dodge. There was a moment of confusion for the beast as Sol's flight was so quick that it was still looking for him in the space before it, trying to catch Sol's scent but finding nothing there but broken shards of mirror. Dracotaurus took advantage of its confusion and tried to get in a strike, but it saw him coming and managed to avoid the blow. As the basilisk evaded Dracotaurus, All Smite quickly came up behind it, his sword glowing with divine energy, and struck the beast across its back. The creature cried out in pain and a dark ichor oozed out of the gash All Smite opened. It tried to lash out at him but it snapped on thin air as he dodged out of the way. "Take that foul beast!" All Smite cried triumphantly.

Orianna ran towards them after dancing out of Muzan's swinging blade and seeing them surrounding one of the basilisks she sent more arcane whispers towards it. The basilisk reacted in fear trying to flee, but as it turned away All Smite swung at it with his blade and cleaved off the creature's head. The head fell to the ground as the body continued forward a few steps before it collapsed unmoving on the ground. Sol continued to chase after the other basilisk, peppering it with arrows as it fled further into the cove. After being struck a few times it turned and tried to retaliate with a bite, but it missed as Sol jumped out of the way. Seeing the remaining basilisk rounding on Sol, All Smite rushed over. And with a mighty swing at the basilisks head he cleanly took the beast's head off, just as he had the first one. 

\----------------------------------------

Rin watched as the heavily injured succubus spat out some more blood and suddenly disappear from view. He ran away from Kharbek, towards where he last saw the succubus and looked around wildly, trying to see where she went. Kharbek noticed Rin leave and then saw Muzan walking towards him. The dwarf was taken aback as he noticed something not right about him. He saw a murderous intent in Muzan's eyes and saw the injured Orianna as she fled past him. Nervously, Kharbek got hefted his hammer to defend himself and called out "Halt!"

Muzan, still acting on the voice's last request, strode over to Kharbek and tried slashing at him with the glaive but it glanced harmlessly off of the dwarf's armor. Seeing Muzan trying to attack him, Kharbek grasped his holy symbol and called a divine flame to strike Muzan. The fire did little harm, but it was enough to snap him out of the control he was under. Muzan felt his head clearing and saw Kharbek standing in front of him defensively. He shook his head and realized what he had just done and took a small step back in horror. _Why did I do that?! What did she do to me?_

There was a tense moment as they all looked around, ready for something else to appear out of the darkness. But the cavern was silent once more as the basilisks no longer breathed and the succubus was still nowhere to be found.

A wave of guilt swept over Muzan as he looked down at the dwarf in front of him. "Kharbek, I'm sorry!" He winced as he looked over to Orianna still keeping her distance, "Orianna! I'm...so sorry!"

Rin called out, "Muzan are you ok?!" as Kharbek gave a short laugh and responded, "You are forgiven, but what was happening there?"

Muzan shook his head. He stuck the butt end of the glaive in the ground and leaned on it while his other hand massaged his forehead, "I don't know. That thing did something to me. I was not in control of myself."

All Smite, who was covered in basilisk blood, let out a big tired sigh and sat on the cavern floor. He leaned up against a rocky wall and looking around at them all. "Is everyone ok? Does anyone need healing?!"

Muzan looked down and realized that he had avoided the danger for the most part and answered All Smite, "I am ok, but we need to be wary, she might come back." He went on to give a description of the creature to those who hadn't seen, explaining what happened with Rebecca while they were fighting the basilisks.

"She was deceiving us this entire time...? That witch! That FIEND!" All Smite looked indignant, "I felt sorry for her..."

"Be careful, she can do things to your mind" Muzan warned.

"I can do things to her neck. Beheading is a specialty of mine tonight," and All Smite's eyes glowered.

Rin caught back up with Muzan, "I.... I don't like other people in my head. It's already crowded in there."

"Heh, I agree. Whatever you did to her seemed to hurt her quite a bit...well done" Muzan said warmly, placing a hand on top of Rin's head.

All Smite nodded, still glowering, "Not to worry, my friend. We will expunge her from this plane of existence."

"Oh uh yeah, thanks. That was the biggest explosion I've made in a while," Rin sidled next to Muzan and he heard Rin's voice in his head once more. "Don't let her get back in here."

Muzan leveled his gaze at Rin and nodded with grave sincerity. 

All Smite's eyes flashed as he used his divine sense to search for the succubus. He scanned the cavern until he felt a fiendish presence to the north of their position. "She is north of the structure over here!" he whispered to them. He followed the trail to her location with Muzan, Rin, and Orianna following closely behind. But as he rounded the corner he discovered that as they advanced she got further and further away from them. The presence went through several walls before eventually, All Smite lost it entirely.

"Come back here you foul beast and fight me like a real enemy would!" All Smite shouted to the empty air.

"She might like that..." Muzan quipped.

The four of them warily looked around the area where they lost the trail, but even after several minutes there was still no sign of the succubus.

They searched the remaining caverns of the cove and discovered the bodies of the bandits that they had come after and some that were older and looked to be random travelers. Some of them were flesh, others were statues. Once Sol had finished harvesting the basilisks he carefully collected all the heads of the bandits that they had bounties for. Extra careful not to break any of the stone ones. Near the statues, Sol also discovered a nest with a few large basilisk eggs inside. He carefully collected them and placed them in one of the sacks he carried, confident that they would fetch a pretty penny in Free Harbor.

As they all searched the belongings of those unfortunate souls that had met their end in this cove they collected a few trinkets. Some potions and coins. Dracotaurus looked inside the tent that Muzan had noticed earlier, but he left disappointed when all he saw were some blankets and pillows. Kharbek wandered over to the tent and inspected it. He asked the others if it would be a good idea to take the tent with them since they only had one other, and hearing agreement he went inside to check out the interior. As he took inventory of the items within, he caught a glimpse of something on the ground. It was a leather pouch with something sticking out of the opening. He picked it up and looked inside, seeing a rectangular object attached to a chain. He closed the pouch back up and pocketed it, deciding to take it to one of the arcane casters that might be able to inspect it.

Kharbek found Muzan and presented him with the leather pouch asking, "Can you look at this thing I found and tell me if it's magic before I open it?"

Muzan took it from him, saying "Of course!" and started inspecting the item. He opened it and took the item out, looking closely. He felt a very strong magical aura coming off of it, and based on the design he gathered that it was the amulet that Dorian had requested that they find for him. "Ahh! Well Kharbek I think you found what we came here to look for!" The amulet was very bright and shiny, and as Muzan focused on it he got the sense that it would improve certain abilities and had a divine magic aura around it.

"Perfect!" the dwarf said, looking quite pleased with himself. Muzan gave the amulet back to Kharbek for safekeeping until they reunited with Dorian.

They all reconvened and discussed whether or not to wait and see if the succubus returned to try and finish the job. Rin and Muzan both apologized to Kharbek again, but the dwarf waved them off and let them know that he understood they were doing it against their will. Muzan and All Smite were both for staying, but a few of the others preferred to leave while they still could. Then there was a debate on if they should stay the night in the cove, as it was already dark outside and traversing the cliffs out would be treacherous at night.

It was a hard choice. They could either stay until the succubus came back-if she ever did-and ensure that they would not be followed out. Leave before she found them and take their chances on the cliffs. Or they could sleep in the cove and she might come during the night and attack them in their sleep.

After wandering the cove to see if there was anything left undiscovered, they ultimately decided to leave before the succubus found them again. As a precaution, they split themselves into three groups and used a rope tied at their waists to help prevent any one person from slipping and falling off the cliffside.

And so, with one last look at the cove, they took their prizes and left the cove in single file, braving the dangerous cliffside in the pitch blackness.


	4. The Power of Understanding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group runs into some unexpected trouble as they exit the cove. After a perilous cliff battle, they make their way back to the city. Once they return Muzan and Rin discover a bit more about each other.

The group slowly made their way out of the cove, skirting the edge of the cliff. Sol led the way with Kharbek tied behind him. Muzan followed behind Kharbek with Rin tied between him and All Smite. Behind All Smite came Orianna who was trailed by Dracotaurus. As they rounded the last corner that was still protected by the cove and entered the open cliff face, Orianna stopped them. 

“Wait, All Smite, something’s not right,” she said as she walked behind him. All Smite stopped and immediately activated his divine sense again, searching around them alertly for signs of the succubus. As he looked Orianna quickly moved in between him and the cliff and without warning she cast her dissonant whispers at him. 

Caught unawares at the sudden pain in his head and overwhelming fear, the urge to get as far away from Orianna overcame him and he ran away from her in the only direction he could go, straight into Rin and Muzan. They both yelped as the giant form of All Smite suddenly crashed into them. Losing their footing they tumbled from the edge of the cliff and hung from the rope that connected them to All Smite. All Smite remained on the ledge and tried to pull them up, but he was starting to lose his footing.

As Muzan felt the breeze behind his back and looked down at the crashing waves he panicked and quickly misty stepped back onto the ledge next to All Smite. Rin, who was left dangling over the ledge with the rope being the only thing holding him up, quickly cast a spell and All Smite suddenly grew twice his size. While this made him strong enough that Rin’s weight seemed like nothing, he struggled to stay on the ledge with his new size.

Dracotaurus saw Orianna attack All Smite and was able to infer that she was not herself. He untied the rope that connected them and tried to restrain her with the slack. Unfortunately, she was too slippery, and deftly avoided his grasp.

Rin, seeing All Smite struggling, dropped the enlarging spell on All Smite. He turned towards Orianna and cast a ray of frost at her. The spell struck true, but she still remained under the succubus’ control. He then used the rope to climb back onto the ledge next to All Smite, ready to defend himself.

Ignoring Rin, Orianna targeted Muzan next, as he had appeared on the ledge. She sent more dissonant whispers at him and the fear threatened to take over but he shook it off, the dull ache of her attack pounding in his head.

Orianna heard the succubus’ voice in her head saying, _"Very good girl, keep it up…"_

As the dull ache passed Muzan walked up to Orianna and tried to slap her, hoping to shake her out of the succubus’ control as he had been before. But Orianna said something sharply as he was about to strike, distracting him and making him doubt whether she really was being controlled. It was enough of a delay that his hand missed as she moved out of the way. He cursed himself for being so easily distracted and knelt down to give Sol and Kharbek a better view of the chaos.

All Smite glowed with divine light as he touched his chest and healed himself. He then tried to skirt the cliff to get close to Orianna, but it was too sheer and he slid back down, taking a defensive stance.

Sol, who was in the front, could hear that there was a commotion but could not see past the others to know what exactly was happening. He prepared his bow in case the succubus appeared. Kharbek ducked down and held his shield up for Sol to use as a ramp, trying to bring down a sacred flame on Orianna but missing as she dodged out of the way. Sol used the opportunity to move over Kharbek but still couldn’t get a clear shot without hitting Muzan. He moved back to the other side of Kharbek and rummaged in his bag, pulling out the small magic lamp he had bought in Alderton.

Dracotaurus hesitated at first, not wanting to strike someone he had known for so long, but he then gave Orianna a solid punch to the jaw. As she reeled from the punch, she felt the influence of the succubus dissipate and was immediately filled with a wave of seething anger. She did _not_ like being controlled.

Seeing her break free, Rin climbed on to All Smite’s back and waited there. Ready to shoot another frost ray once the succubus revealed herself. He only had to wait a few seconds as she flew in next to them. He yelped at her sudden appearance and the ray missed as she flew close to All Smite. She grinned at Rin, saying “Not very nice Rin, after such a lovely time that we had together you’d do this? That is uncalled for.” She then turned her attention to All Smite with a hungry look in her eyes. “Hmmmm, such a strong man you are, All Smite…”

The man glowered at her and shouted, “I will not be bewitched by your ways FOUL DEMON!”

She laughed at him, “We’ll certainly see about that,” and her eyes met his. He tried to resist but her influence was too strong. 

Orianna saw her taking control of All Smite and whipped out a scroll. She used it, spitting out “Fucking bitch!” and missiles of force energy shot out of it and pummeled the succubus. Orianna moved past Dracotaurus to get behind the succubus, still seething, “Why don’t you come for me again you whore!”

“Mmmm, maybe another day” the succubus answered.

“You won’t live that long.”

“We’ll see~”

Muzan summoned his glaive, and as Orianna had her distracted he used the opportunity to cast a hex on the succubus. A dark cloud of energy enveloped her briefly as he did, but the succubus didn't seem to mind. She grinned and looked at All Smite, issuing her silent command.

All Smite took his sword and struck at Rin on his back. The blade glowed with energy as it pierced Rin, smiting him with a grievous wound. Rin fell off his back, writhing in pain and screaming.

Seeing All Smite’s attack on Rin, Dracotaurus angrily removed the chair on his back and threw it at the succubus. It flew through the air, just missing Orianna and hitting the succubus square in her chest just as another sacred flame from Kharbek hit her from above. She faltered in the air and looked at them both menacingly, a large bruise immediately visible where the chair had struck.

As Rin lay on the ground, still screaming in pain, he looked between All Smite looming above him and the succubus, deciding which he should attack. He could feel the exhaustion of the previous battle and knew he was running out of spells. In a split-second decision, he pointed at the succubus, sending a gust of wind to push her away from them. The sudden burst of wind caught her by surprise, and she fell several feet before they could hear the sound of her wings beating as she caught herself in time to avoid the waves below.

Rin then looked up at All Smite, wondering if that would be his last move before the large man cleaved him in two.

Hearing Rin’s cries, Sol desperately rubbed the lamp he had pulled out, hoping it would have something that could help them. A few seconds passed as smoke came out of it, forming a large muscular man with a mustache. The man crossed his arms and stated aloud, “You must honor my master to gain my trust and my wishes.”

Impatiently Sol said to him, “And can we do that later? We’re in the middle of a battle right now.” But the large man simply repeated his request. No matter what Sol said the man still repeated the phrase. Frustrated after a few failed attempts, the elf gave up on him, readying his bow once more. He sighted the succubus and waited until she came into his range.

He tracked her as she flew up from Rin’s gust until the moment she was within bowshot. He loosed an arrow at her, hitting her in the shoulder. She hissed angrily, her wings faltering. The succubus was starting to look ragged, but she surged forward, flying until she was right in front of All Smite.

She drew close to him, reaching out and caressing his face before bringing her lips in towards his. As she kissed him All Smite could feel her stealing his life's essence, and he staggered in pain as she broke free, barely alive and struggling to remain standing. She sighed deeply as she pulled away, her figure straightened a bit and they could see her wounds beginning to disappear.

All Smite reeled from the pain, almost drained of his life entirely, but it was enough for him to break free of her control. She tried to fly away then, but with a desperate swing, he managed to catch her with his sword, clipping one of her wings. At the same time, Rin thrust out with his new staff, stabbing her in the chest. 

The succubus cried out in pain as they both struck, and she began to fall towards the rocky waves below.

As the succubus fell, Orianna reached out and caught her by the throat. With a surge of strength, fueled by anger, Orianna crushed the succubus’ throat in her hand. Listening to the strangled sounds as the life faded from her eyes. The body immediately started to dissolve, turning into a foul sludge that started to drip down to the rocky waters below. In disgust, Orianna threw the remains down the cliffside before it completely turned to mush in her hands.

Rin looked at All Smite with his eyes wide, asking if he was gonna hit him again and backing up against the wall. Still shocked from the experience, All Smite tried to explain that he didn’t mean to do it and that the succubus was controlling him. 

“You almost---she almost---” Rin was still breathing heavily, “Can we please get off this ledge?”

Sol turned to the red man that was now blocking their exit. The man was calmly waiting for a response. Sol looked at Kharbek and asked if the dwarf had ever seen anything like it before, not sure how to make him go away. Kharbek wracked his brain, but he could only think of vague legends he had heard, “Yeah I haven’t the foggiest. It’s pretty neat though, where’d you get it?”

They both heard Rin shout “GET OFF THE LEDGE, NOW!!”

“I can’t, there’s a guy in the way!” Sol shouted back.

“Bring him with!”

“I don’t know how!!”

Muzan asked Sol where the man came from and Sol showed him the lamp. When he asked Sol how it came out the elf explained how it had appeared in a plume of smoke after rubbing the lamp. Muzan thought for a second and suggested rubbing the lamp again. Sol shrugged, ready to try anything at this point, and rubbed the lamp. They sighed in relief as the red man turned into smoke once more and disappeared into the lamp. Sol returned it to his bag, vowing to interrogate Orianna later on what the thing actually was.

They all make it off the ledge with no other issues, finding their way in the dark. It was nearing 9 o'clock so they decided to find a place to camp and recover from their wounds.

As they walked Muzan could see that Orianna had an absolutely feral look of utter hatred on her face, still breathing heavily.

They took a short break as soon as they left the ledge and made it to more open land. All Smite turned to Rin, “Rin I am so sorry... I only have some healing light left, but may I assist you in any way?" so focused on assisting his friend that his fury at the succubus was no more.

Rin immediately untied himself from the large man once they were off the ledge "Uh, you didn't mean to, I know that. It was just scary."

Muzan rushed over to Rin "Rin are you ok? I heard you screaming!"

“Yeah….no….um?...that...I almost died.” He sighed, still shaking and looking around with wide eyes. He heard All Smite start to apologize again and stopped him, “Um, no it’s ok All Smite. I know...I know you didn’t mean to. That was just…...really scary.”

All Smite nodded, “I understand...I….you should know that whenever you are with me and my shield is with my friends you will never be harmed if I can help it.”

“Yeah…..yeah...you hit hard. I’m glad you’re on my side,” Rin laughed shakily. “I will never get on your bad side again…”

Ensuring that Rin was comfortable with it, All Smite approached him and laid his healing hands on him. They watched as the large gash slowly closed, looking like it had never been there.

As Sol was getting ready to lead them to a safe camping spot, Muzan noticed Orianna still standing by the water. Carefully he approached her to let her know that they were leaving. As he got closer he could see that she still looked immensely angry, but there were also tears trailing down the sides of her face. He quietly let her know the plan and asked her if she was going to be alright. 

She laughed a bit ruefully and brushed him off. She was silent for a while as he awkwardly stood there, fumbling for something to say, before she finally said, “We’re making camp aren’t we?”

“Yes.”

“.....great.” But the way she said it he thought it was the opposite of ‘great’. Muzan felt worried for her, but he could not find any words to say. He only knew a tiny bit of her past, and he couldn’t imagine how she felt after being controlled by the succubus. He knew how prickly she could be when it came to her past, and he was not keen on drawing her ire.

No one said a word as they followed Sol. Even Rin was uncharacteristically quiet. The silence hung heavily in the air. They reached the spot that Sol had found and started to set up the tent they had. Rin helped Sol gather some sticks for a fire, using his magic to light it. After it was lit, Rin plopped down next to it, staring into the fire and scratching his axolotl familiar Xija’s head.

Muzan sat near the fire and pulled out his pipe. He watched as Sol pulled out his own and joined him. They sat there quietly, puffing on their pipes and mulling over the events of the day.

Once things were settled All Smite found a spot nearby and started to meditate. After he had been meditating for a while Muzan saw Rin approach the man.

“Hey….I know you didn’t mean to do anything. It’s not a big deal. I was just scared. There’s a lot of things I realized that I want to do before I die, if I ever do, and it was just scary that I had to face that I could…..I could die before I do anything of note. I could just be dead, haha, having done nothing my entire life...” 

Coming out of his meditation, All Smite listened to Rin until he was finished, “My friend I have been faced with death many times and it is a scary thing, I understand, but just know that we will do our best not to have that happen to you ever again. I...I assure you...I myself am distraught! I have never wounded an ally with my own hands before, never! This, this succubus we faced was something extraordinary.”

“It was...it was evil, I know that. Um….ah, before this trip I didn’t even know what evil meant. But now I doooo. I’ve got a much clearer picture of bad than I ever have before.”

“Rest assured we will vanquish anything else like that that comes in our path.” All Smite tried to give a shaky smile but Rin could tell deep down that the man was still shaken. 

“All Smite...I’m...you said you’ll help protect me, and everyone else will….but I’m not you guys’ responsibility.”

All Smite sputtered, “You are!”

“No, I’m not,” Rin insisted.

But All Smite raised his voice passionately, “We have forged a bond in these times right now! You are certainly my responsibility to protect because you are an ally and a friend and I cherish your presence. And I want you to succeed and see a future!”

Muzan had been listening to the two as he smoked his pipe and agreed with All Smite, “Yes Rin, you are not a responsibility but...you are a friend that we want to protect.”

“Of course, protecting each other is great. I just don’t want you guys to feel like you have to be responsible for me.”

“I see it as a privilege to work side by side with you and defend you. To see what you will become. You have great potential Rin.” All Smite said warmly.

Muzan smiled, remembering Rin’s attack on the succubus, “You pack quite a punch.”

“I was about to say the same.” Kharbek added, “You help us a lot too.”

He didn’t seem too convinced yet, but Rin smiled a bit as they all tried to reassure him. “Heh. I’m glad. I’m sorry I hit you with a rock earlier Kharbek.” 

“Hey, it was a good throw.” Kharbek said good-naturedly.

They all laughed, and Muzan could feel the mood lighten a bit.

Rin laughed along with them, “Yeah, of course the best throws are the ones thrown at your friends on accident…”

Muzan felt tired, but the lightened mood helped ease his mind. Being so easily controlled by the succubus was something he hadn’t expected. He was frustrated with himself, but it was a comfort to know that even an upstanding holy man like All Smite had been unable to resist.

They all got ready to bed down for the night, deciding who would take watches. Sol stayed up for the first watch with Rin, but thankfully nothing disturbed them. The elf watched as a family of owlbears passed by peacefully in the distance. He noticed Orianna bedded down a little ways away from the group tossing and turning, murmuring in her sleep.

After a couple of hours he told Rin to go to sleep and that he would stay up another couple hours since he didn’t need as much rest. Rin sleepily followed his suggestion, curling up back to back with All Smite as the man loudly snored.

A couple hours later Muzan awoke to Sol waking him up for the next watch and he slowly got up, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. Orianna watched with him, sitting a little distance away.

The time passed quietly. Muzan tried to make some small talk, trying to fill the uncomfortable silence and hoping to distract her mind a bit. Her responses were short though, and he knew that something was wrong with her.

Muzan quietly panicked. _What do I do? What can I say?_ And as he wracked his brain his ears caught the sound of her crying softly. He started to panic even more, hating himself for his inexperience. So he moved a bit closer and let her know that he would listen if she felt like talking. Little by little, she spoke about how she didn’t like being controlled like that. It brought up bad memories. Muzan noticed her shivering a bit in the chilly spring night air as she sat there. He picked up a blanket and moved over to her, making sure she could see him coming so as not to surprise her, and gently placed it around her shoulders. He felt her jump a bit as he did so and he sat a little ways apart, not wanting to intrude on her space.

He remembered how she expressed interest in learning Vespan, and he started speaking softly, pointing out different items and telling her what they were in the language. She mentioned that she probably wouldn’t remember any of it because she couldn’t focus at the moment, but he shrugged. He told her that even if she didn’t he hoped he could help distract her from darker thoughts. For the rest of the watch, he would tell her phrases in Vespan and talk a little bit about the island he grew up on. At the end of the watch, they woke up Kharbek as they both returned to their rest for the night.

Before falling asleep, Muzan chuckled as he noticed All Smite had rolled over and was cuddling Rin like a stuffed animal.

The rest of the night was peaceful and they all woke up in the morning refreshed, donning their armor and packing up their supplies for the journey back to Free Harbor. With their map, it only took them a few days to get back to the western gates of the city.

It had only been six days since they set out on Dorian’s errand, and they had a couple more to themselves before they were to meet him at the Carnation Apparition. 

As they re-entered the city Muzan overheard Sol and All Smite arguing and caught Sol saying how they still weren’t a group.

All Smite swelled up, blustering and saying loudly “We **are** a group! We. Almost. Murdered each other. And then we came back and became stronger than ever! _We are a group!_ ” the man then crossed his arms and began pouting. It was hard for Muzan not to laugh at the sight of the tall man with such an expression on his face.

Looking unfazed by his proclamation, Sol still would not be swayed. “Yeah, we’re just traveling together. It’s not permanent. It’s temporary.”

A few of the others asked him why he was so against calling them a group, and he dodged the question by claiming that they never worked out well. Even Dracotaurus spoke up to point out that Sol himself was finding ways to call them a group while not using the actual word and that he was doing a poor job of avoiding being a group with them. Sol grumpily agreed with him and changed the subject by asking who was going with him to turn in the heads at the guild.

In the end, Sol, Muzan, Kharbek, and Orianna went to the guild to turn in the bounties while the rest returned to the Fox & Fox Pub.

They walked in and saw Iris at the counter, the earth genasi that had previously apprehended them about Orianna’s bounty. Sol showed her the bag that he had put the heads in and she waved over one of her underlings to take it and sort them out. After several minutes they received their payment to split between them. It was the most gold Muzan had seen in quite a while. While he did get a cut when he was with the Shadow Raiders, he was not a high enough rank to get that much.

While they were waiting, Orianna went up to the counter and tried to find out from Iris who exactly had put the bounty out for her. Iris continued to write in her ledger and without looking up told Orianna that she could not give out that information. No matter how much Orianna persisted and tried to persuade, Iris refused to budge. Iris explained that she valued her job and the ability to provide food for herself very highly and that Orianna would have to look elsewhere. Orianna relented, frustrated, and Iris asked them what name to put down for collecting the bounty. 

The four of them looked at each other confused and asked what she meant. Exasperatedly Iris asked for either a group name or their individual names. Sol gave her his name immediately, but Muzan jokingly told her to just write down “Not a Group.”

As soon as Muzan said that Sol shook his head, saying “What? No, just put my name down,” but Orianna and Kharbek laughed and agreed with Muzan’s suggestion. In the end they wrote down “Solon and The Not a Group.” She let them know that there might be more work in the future if they were interested and they went on their way back to the Fox & Fox Pub.

On the way back to the pub, Sol asked Orianna what happened with the lamp. Muzan could hear the irritation in his voice as the elf asked her what she had meant when she initially told him he was supposed to use it at the right moment. Orianna sighed, a slight smile at her lips as she clarified that what she told him was true, it just wasn’t the right moment. Orianna explained that the genie was simply an illusion.

Muzan and Kharbek listened to them bicker over the usefulness of such an item, and finally heard Sol proclaim “That’s so dumb!” as they came upon the tavern.

They were greeted by a very hyperactive Rin. Muzan had gotten used to Rin being excitable and chatty, but somehow it had been doubled. They asked what happened and Dracotaurus and All Smite mentioned a drink Rin had called ‘coffee’. 

The four of them split the gold they had earned with the rest of the group and they discussed spending the rest of the day shopping before returning to their rooms at the tavern.

Rin said that he didn’t feel like shopping and that he was going to the MISFA laboratory, asking if anyone wanted to come with him. Muzan asked if he could tag along, as he wanted to see if he would be able to find a Sending Scroll at the MISFA library. As Rin excitedly started talking about the different things he wanted to make, Muzan put a hand on his head to focus him. Rin reached up and started patting Muzan’s hand excitedly. He laughed and said, “Hahaha, just take us there, Rin.”

Before they left Orianna asked Muzan if he could find a sending scroll for her if there was more than one available and he accepted without question.

As they walked to MISFA Rin asked question after question, "I wonder if someday I'll have facial hair like you? It looks good. How do you know magic?"

Muzan fingered his goatee a bit self-consciously, “Haha, thank you Rin...”

"Are you like me? Magic because MAGIC" and Rin waved his hands in the air.

"Me? Not...quite. I've always been able to do some small things."

"Oh ooh oh oh ok so how do you do your magic?"

Muzan looked at him and used Thaumaturgy to make his eyes change to each color of the rainbow.

Rin looked on flabbergasted, "YOUR EYES ARE PRETTY"

Muzan laughed, "Honestly I'm still figuring things out.....but it has to do with my weapon."

"Your spear thing?"

"Yes, haha, my glaive. It is...special to me, I guess you could say?" though Muzan wasn’t sure how much he should say about it and Locke. The only other person he had told was Emeline.

"When did you get it?"

"Oh a couple years ago"

"Where did you find it? How heavy is it? Why does it give you magic?" Every answer seemed to bring a barrage of more questions.

"Well at first it was quite heavy, but now it doesn't weigh anything to me."

"WHAT. You got strong! Can I try to hold it? I want to see if I am strong."

"I found it in a very ancient place full of dust and bones," Muzan tried to talk it up while avoiding the particulars of who he was with at the time.

Thankfully Rin didn't notice, "Wowwwww!"

"As for why? Well, that is a secret to me even... I don't think you would be able to hold it, but I know you are strong Rin." Though Muzan knew that the ‘secret’ part was a partial lie. He didn’t know everything, but it wasn’t a complete secret. He had made a deal after all.

"I meant I'm not that strong yet. But someday!" Then Rin looked at him quizzically, "You really don't know why it gives you magic? I get that. I don't fully know why I have magic. I apparently ‘bend the weave around me without trying’" he said the last part in a mocking voice. "Magic is so cool."

Muzan hesitated for a bit, wondering how to explain. "......I do not know fully....but I'm not sure how much I should say. But yes it is very cool!" 

"Do.. do you not trust me?" Rin asked, looking slightly sullen for a fraction of a second.

Muzan patted Rin on the head once more, "I trust you, but some secrets are not mine to tell.”

"How is it not your secret? It's YOUR magic"

Muzan thought about Locke granting him power and felt a bit skeptical, "Hmm....is it really?"

"I mean yeah it comes from you, doesn't it? Who else's would it be?"

"If it comes from my weapon can I really call it mine?"

"Who wields the weapon?"

"I do, but I did not create it"

"I didn't create me, but I am magical."

Muzan laughed at Rin’s clever retort, "Haha, I think your magic is a bit different." _For one, I don't think you have a magic weapon that talks to you in your dreams..._

"Is it? I think magic is all different in a way but really it's all the same. It's just different ways to harness the weave around us. Some people study. Some people are born magical. And some people find magical Glaives - but we all eventually really are doing the same thing. Making a change in the world. I think you are more magical than you think you are."

Muzan was caught off guard with Rin’s unexpected wisdom, ".....you are wiser than many others your age. More than me when I was your age, that's for sure."

Rin smiled widely, "I feel like I've lived a long time in a way. Last week feels so far away. Maybe I've been living longer than I thought. Maybe this isn't my first lifetime." Then his eyes got huge, "What if I was a moose in a previous life. WHAT IF I WAS AN AXOLOTL" 

The sudden conversational whiplash left Muzan speechless, all he could say was “Why a moose?”

Rin pulled out Xija, mirroring her giant smile, "Definitely an Axolotl. I don't know, why not a moose? I could have been anything."

"Axolotl are definitely cuter creatures..."

“I could have been..yeah, I mean…..I don’t know. I think you were a sabertooth lion in your last life, or a dolphin named...Jalopious. The third. One of those.”

“Hmm….I’m not too sure which one of those two I like better….” _A sabertooth lion sounds pretty cool though…_

“That’s the thing about dying and coming back and being reborn. You don’t, you don’t...it just happens.”

“Does it?”

“I don’t know, maybe? Hehe.”

Muzan’s head was starting to hurt, “I feel like this is something we should talk about with Kharbek, I’m feeling out of my depth here.”

“Oh, I don’t know, but anyway I think it’s cool that you found a magical glaive and you turned magical.”

“That’s one way of putting it.” _A very simplified way, that’s for sure._

“What is a _different_ way of putting it that you think is better?” Rin asked him, waiting expectantly.

Muzan just grinned at him, at a loss for words. Rin grinned back and leaned in. Finally, Muzan sighed, “Ahhh, you really like asking a lot of questions, don’t you?”

“I sure do! I’m curious! I was told back when I lived at home, some people said I was too curious. But I think that there is no such thing! I think it’s just a matter of beinnnn more curious.”

“I think they might have a point though. It’s a matter of who you are asking.”

“Well, that’s how you just have to learn.” Rin answered defiantly.

“Some people do not take kindly to having too many questions asked...” _Dangerous people…._ Muzan thought.

“Well, then they’re just stupid.” Rin said right away, but then he seemed to think about it a little more, “You’re right some people don’t like to be asked a lot of questions. I’ve asked many people who don’t want me to ask them questions. But that’s how you learn things. That’s how you get smarter, is by knowing more and asking the questions that need to be asked. And I think you need to be asked, or you need to ask yourself why you don’t feel like you are magical. And I don't need to know the answer. I’d love to. But I don’t need to. But I think that’s a question that you need to ask yourself.”

Muzan was silent for a while, pondering Rin’s words. He was not prepared for the sudden serious turn of conversation, and it troubled him that he did not have a good answer. _I'm nobody special...just using borrowed power..._ “…..I will think on that.”

“I don’t think it’s something you think on. I think it’s something you feel.” Rin's copper-colored eyes seemed to pierce right through him.

“...that is also true…..So!--” there was an awkward pause as Muzan tried to find something to change the subject. But there was no need, as Rin said excitedly “Oh look, MISFA!”

Rin showed the mage at the entrance his pin that Pyrus Vesti had given him and they were allowed to enter.

Muzan looked around at the different buildings, “Do you know where the library is?”

“No idea!”

“Uhhhh, perfect! Maybe we’ll ask someone…”

Rin led him to the laboratory and they both approached the clerk to ask where the library is. She told them where it was located on the other side of the campus. They thanked her and when she asked if they were looking for anything specific Muzan told her about the scroll he was trying to find. She let them know that it would be easily acquired there, but only students are able to gain access to the library and its resources. Muzan’s heart fell as he heard that, but Rin asked her right away how to become a student. They learned that you can get into MISFA with a recommendation from a couple of the magistrates.

Rin piped up that he wasn’t a student and yet Pyrus Vesti had given him the pin for the lab and maybe he would give them permission for the library too. As soon as she heard this though the clerk laughed a bit skeptically. The way she dismissed Rin rubbed Muzan the wrong way. Rin seemed unfazed though and asked Muzan if he thought Dorian would be able to recommend them since he seemed pretty magical. Hearing that name the clerk seemed to lose her composure for a second, telling them to “stay away from that bastard, he’s nothing but trouble and he can go fuck himself!”

Muzan’s eyes lit up with understanding, “Ahh, you must have been one of his--”

“One more word and you will regret stepping foot in here,” she cut him off with a glare, and his smile grew wider.

Rin talked with the clerk some more regarding item creation and components that they might need, and the subject of Pyrus Vesti came up once more. Upon hearing Rin say that he knew Vesti personally, she said “Right…” skeptically.

Muzan cocked his head at her, “You seem to think he is lying.”

“I’m..ha, I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be distrusting, but I’ve heard a lot of things at this counter, and least of which is someone claiming to know one of the five on the council.”

They went back and forth a bit more, and as the clerk dismissed Rin once again Muzan leaned on the counter with a smile that did not match his eyes, “If Pyrus knew this is how you treated his friend, he wouldn’t be very happy with you, would he?” The clerk’s sardonic smile dropped, and after some half-hearted explanations she apologized to Rin and asked if they had anything further.

They left the counter and worked in the lab for a while. Muzan listened a bit fascinated as Rin talked nonstop about the different magical items he could create. They discussed different formulas and ingredients back and forth, and Muzan was surprised by how much he understood. He even considered the possibility of making an item himself.

After a time Rin went back up to the counter to ask the lady about the possibility of working on items outside of the laboratory. As he asked several different questions the clerk grew frustrated and finally told him that if he was so adamant he should talk to Pyrus Vesti. “Great idea! I will!” he shot back at her, and he marched out to find the man’s office. Muzan trailed behind him, not wanting to get lost on the large campus.

When they reached his office they discovered that no one was there, though after some searching and asking many different people Rin finally found someone who knew where Pyrus would be in the next half hour for a fifteen-minute walk in between his meetings. The mage then told them the location of a garden near the apothecary that Pyrus liked to visit.

They thanked the mage and headed in that direction. As they walked through the campus Muzan had an idea. Since he probably wouldn’t be able to get into the library he searched out one of the students. He was able to find a young man that was willing to get two sending scrolls for Muzan at a good price, thanks to Rin’s help. Muzan thanked the kid profusely, clutching the two scrolls as they continued on towards the garden.

He felt nervous and excited, happy that he was able to find a way to contact his family but worried about what he would discover.

As they walked to the garden though, Muzan noticed that Rin looked nervous. “Everything ok?” he asked.

"Yeah. Yeah…..Yeah……...I... I feel like I'm gonna fuck up. I don't know when and I don't know how but I just know I'm gonna fuck something up soon. Probably bad."

"Fuck up? How bad could it be?"

"I don't know. It could be something small, but.. But I fuck up. It's my pattern. I just have a feeling. I don’t know. I.. I'm nervous about tinkering again too. What if I can't make anything cool or useful? I just know I'm gonna fuck up."

"We all fuck up sometimes, that doesn't mean you shouldn't still pursue the things you enjoy. If you fail, you probably still learned something."

Rin looked up at Muzan and smiled, "I'm a fuck up"

Muzan’s heart went out to him, _If anyone is a fuck up it’s me…_ "Even if what you create isn't 'cool' or 'useful', you still created something and that's pretty cool!"

"Or pretty useful haha. Do you not get that feeling? I thought maybe everyone did."

Muzan smiled at him sadly, "You may make mistakes, but I don't think that makes you a 'fuck up'. And....yes I do get that feeling sometimes......"

"I don't know. I think I just have ‘mistake’ built into my being. Fuck, I am a mistake. I'm not supposed to exist. I'm a kink in the weave. A magical fuck up."

Muzan thought for a second, "Hmmm, I don't really agree with that, but if that were true I am glad to have met you anyway Rin.” 

They walked in silence for a few more minutes, and Muzan was counting in his head to see how long it would last when Rin spoke up once more, “Muzan….do you still think you’re not magical enough?”

“Ehhh, it is not that per se, more just still….getting used to everything.”

“That’s fair, it is weird having magical powers.”

“Yes. It is strange...but also kind of fun, I admit.”

“Yeah! Yeah, it is. Unless you accidentally burn down a forest. That’s fun.”

“That’s...that’s a bit less fun, yes. You haven’t….you haven’t done that, have you?” Muzan asked, a bit concerned.

“Umm…” and Rin launched into an explanation on how he had fought with a group of orcs in the woods outside Alderton. That was how he had met All Smite, Sol, and Kharbek. Thankfully no forest was burnt down, only a few singed spots.

As they approached the grove they saw that it was guarded, but Rin showed his pin and they let him through, albeit with a few curious glances. Muzan figured they didn’t look like typical students. In the shadows of the setting sun, they could see different clusters of iridescent flowers in blues and greens that were just starting to show faintly. Fascinated they both approached the flowers to smell them and discovered that while they were very fragrant it was unlike anything they had ever smelled before. Rin deduced that it was something that MISFA had been cultivating themselves, as it was not anything close to the native flora. They walked around the different stone paths that wrapped around the trees and plants, listening to the different night birds begin to call out to each other as they began to wake. Various fireflies winked at them in a few different colors of amber and red, contrasting to the blues and greens of the flowers. 

There was a soothing presence that they could not help but relax in. It was so beautiful and peaceful that Muzan felt that he could spend an eternity there. They both held their hands out, trying to get the fireflies to land on them. Muzan watched as Rin breathed very slowly, squeezing his eyes shut, and saw a multitude of fireflies land on him. Almost like they were attracted to his innate magic. Rin laughed in delight, “Hahahaha, look at them, they’re glowing! I’m glowing!” As he shook with laughter the fireflies began to disperse, and they both saw a gnome approaching them. He had shaggy hair and green eyes, walking with a sort of cane in one hand and a book in the other. He had stopped and seemed to be observing them. The book that he held was unlike any they had seen before, with a series of clockwork gears inside of it that seemed to be spinning and clicking. 

As soon as he saw the gnome, Rin called out in excitement “Pyrus, hey, hi! Do you remember me?”

“I...do, yes.” the old gnome responded, slowly walking towards them.

“Um! I wanted to talk with you if you have a minute?”

“Hummmm...I suppose I have about….nine and a half minutes. What brings you to this grove? I did not expect to see you here.”

“Umm, we were told that you were supposed to be here so I wanted to come and see you.”

Pyrus cleared his throat, “And who told you this, Rin?”

“I don’t remember! Some dude.”

The gnome sighed and muttered, “Hmmmm, we’re going to have to have a talk…”

“Only if you have time! I don’t want to get anyone into trouble…” Rin quickly said.

“Sorry to intrude, this is a very nice garden.” Muzan added, feeling sorry for the mage that had given them the information and hoping that he didn’t get in too much trouble because of them.

“Yes, well this is the Grove of Idher, but more commonly known as the “Grove of Contemplation”. Hummm….we’re going to have to have another talk about confidentiality again aren’t we...anyway, you’re here. What would you ask of me? I..it’s fine. A friend of Rin is definitely welcome and has some of my time.”

Muzan could see that the gnome’s expression was that of veiled impatience and he quickly said, “It’s nice to meet you, my name is Muzan. But, we are just here for Rin, he is the one who wanted to speak to you.”

Hearing that Rin immediately burst out, “Yeah, so the lady over at the desk at the lab, she keeps telling--she said that there’s no way that I know you and that I...I was trying to maybe become a student here but I, like, don’t know how to become a student here because, like, I...I also want to go adventure and I don’t know if I can be a student while also adventuring because I want to do, like, classes where I’m not here. Umm and also I was wondering if there was a way that I could do magical enchanting stuff, like I could make those cool magic items that I want to make at the lab, but I want to like make them other places, like I want to make them on a ship because I’m gonna be on a ship soon, and I think I’m gonna be on a ship for a while so if I’m on a ship for a while and I just have a lot of time to twiddle my thumbs I might as well make something, right? So how do I do that?”

Pyrus narrowed his eyes a bit as he listened to Rin ramble on, waiting until he was finished before saying “Well...firstly….I mean, you’ll have to forgive people for not believing you. It’s not the first time that someone has tried to flex a name in order to attend this prestigious university.”

“Is there any way I can get proof?” Rin asked him. “Other than the pin, I guess...”

“Well...that is fine. Something I can provide. Although, I don’t believe that you would find...well, I don’t believe you would find it as useful. Normally wizards attend this school, there are some sorcerers who do attend for other reasons. Learning from more...well, higher art forms in certain areas. But….as far as you wanting to become a student and then leaving…..I do not believe that is something we can accommodate..”

“Ok. Can I get a little transportable lab? Like is there any way I can make a lab on a ship? Or just in a……..in a haversack somewhere? I have one..or we have one, I can go get it!”

“Well, you see, it really does depend on what you are making. If there are a certain set of things that maybe you’re interested in...then you might be able to prepare for making them. But that in itself is a process. Our labs are outfitted to be...have different pieces exchanged, and have different materials and formulas given on demand. This is due to….various abilities that I do not wish to disclose that we have at our disposal. Outfitting a simple ship with this would require many days work for someone as skilled as _I_ am. For initiates, this would be nearly impossible.”

Rin’s face fell, “...shit”

“But,” the old gnome continued, “if you wanted to limit your frame of reference, you may find that you could possibly replicate certain things about our labs. But as far as trying to maintain something at sea without any sort of extradimensional abilities...this would be nearly impossible….”

Muzan listened to the two of them talk about the specifics that would go into setting up the creation of magical items while they traveled, and Pyrus ended with saying that he would be having several conversations with people about what happened that day. Muzan imagined that not all of them would be about allowing Rin’s access and silently apologized to the poor mage they had talked to.

Rin thanked Pyrus and then got a bit quiet, shifting away from Muzan a little, “Um...so, another thing I...um...I have noticed that as I become more powerful and am better at casting spells and stuff, I can’t think straight, and I’m...is there...I’m” and he sighed in frustration as his words started to jumble. “I’m a little nervous, because I don’t know if I’m going to be able to even _make_ any items.”

Pyrus looked at him thoughtfully, “Well….I would say...I mean it’s different for every person. It’s not unknown that students under pressure do tend to have various...in various degrees...um, accidents, or, uh, experiments that fail due to their stress. I don’t think that anyone could answer that for you Rin, I think that is something that you need to find for yourself. Something that works for you. Something that can help...help address those things more volatile about yourself. I know that there are certain philosophies that people embrace. Certain methods and disciplines and structures. But, as far as making things...I believe as long as you give yourself enough time and enough space to work in, I think that you’d be alright. There’s a different...there’s a certain discipline in studying the arcane that in itself can be separate from our intrinsic abilities. There are those that are not all that well inclined to practice higher forms of magic, but they are proficient in the arcane and they can still make items. I think you just need to be patient with yourself.”

“I just...a lot of times, especially more recently, it gets harder to think things through. It’s...like I just get stuck in the details and then it just..my head, my brain gets loud..and it feels like...I don’t...I don’t know.”

“Hmmm” Pyrus stepped around Rin. They could both tell that Pyrus was tired and irritated, but he was pushing himself to address Rin. He walked around and examined Rin. “Hmmmmm, do you think that this is separate from your wild magic? Or do you think that it is tied to it?”

“No...I-I-I think it’s tied together because when I, like I recently learned a new spell, or I just kinda started bein’ able to make stuff bigger and smaller, but then my brain started getting louder and harder to think….” Rin trailed off, watching Pyrus circle him.

“Hmmmm, well this is something that I had attempted to study in-depth. Something that I had worked on..but, well...I failed. These sorts of...unquantifiable outbursts of magic. They’re hard to measure. They’re hard to prevent. And they’re harder to treat.”

“Well that’s the thing, cause I don’t know if I want it...like, I don’t think I want it gone…”

“Well I don’t think that’s something we can even do.” As Pyrus walked around Rin he held his book in one hand, and in the other was a green stone that he held aloft. “Hmm...yes, there….I think that it is something that you will have to wrestle with Rin. It is something that is unique to those with innate magic. And we see people being troubled by it in different ways. But to be totally honest, I think, knowing your mothers as I do...I think that applying yourself, making these things you want to make...I think that giving your mind something to embrace is the best route for you. Some people find it here in this grove, some people need time and quiet. I don’t think you need that. I think you need to embrace that, heh, I suppose embrace what Jerda is in you. And see if you can’t embrace that side of you. Make something. Make many things. And don’t let fear cloud your judgment.”

Hearing Pyrus mention his mom Rin asked Pyrus some questions about devices that could be used to communicate with them. They spoke a little about the various items or scrolls that could be used before Rin suddenly asked the gnome about his book and why it was ticking. Pyrus chuckled and explained that it was a gift and that it helps him keep track of his spells, as well as containing a few other tools he uses in his work.

Muzan had been listening to their conversation, multiple questions popping up in his mind about how this gnome knew so much and what else he knew. He was brought out of his own thoughts when he heard Rin ask if he had any question for Pyrus.

Pyrus narrowed his eyes and looked up at Muzan, patience clearly thinning, “Yes? Can I help you?”

Muzan froze, “Ahhh, no I am all right. I got what I needed.”

“He learned magic because he picked up a glaive!” Rin told Pyrus excitedly.

Muzan sighed and brought a hand up to his temple. This was not where he envisioned this conversation going. He looked back up and noticed Pyrus staring at him, an intense and scrutinizing look on his face.

“Is everything alright? You seem curious about something?” Muzan carefully asked.

Instead of answering him, Pyrus looked at Rin, “Rin…...walk with me.”

“Okay!” and Rin followed Pyrus away from Muzan, further into the garden. Muzan stayed where he was, imagining what Pyrus had to say for Rin’s ears only. Probably has something to do with me and my ‘magic glaive’… He relaxed in the calming atmosphere, sitting near the beautiful iridescent flowers and breathing in their fragrance. As he sat there he started to think about what he would say with his sending scroll. He knew there were a limited amount of words and he struggled to think of something short.

It was several minutes later before Rin came back alone, looking a bit upset and like he had a lot on his mind.

Rin walked up to Muzan and asked him “Um...who is your...your...your magic daddy?”

Muzan looked at him puzzled, not sure that he heard him right. “Wait what? ...my father’s name is Elyas?”

“No no no no, you got a glaive. The glaive gave you magic. There’s a god or a fiend or a person that gives you power, who is it?” The upbeat tone that usually colored Rin’s voice was gone completely. Whatever Pyrus had told him Muzan figured it must have been bad.

Muzan sighed defeatedly, “I’m not sure _what_ he is but...I know his name.”

“What is it?”

“The name I was given is Locke,” and as Muzan said Locke’s name aloud he felt a warmth in his palm. It didn’t hurt or feel particularly good or bad, just warm. How strange...

Rin looked intrigued at the name, “Like, and key? Like a lock?”

“I believe so…….but, how do you know?”

“Um, well, Pyrus is, you know, perceptive. He told me. He said I should be careful around you because you have to do what Locke says... But I think you’re fine. I think you're great! I...I know you wouldn’t hurt me or anyone who didn’t deserve it.”

Hearing Rin say that, Muzan was surprised at how happy it made him. He couldn’t help but smile, and remembering the two rules Locke told him he responded, “I don’t believe I would be told to do that either.”

“So Locke’s a good guy?”

“I don’t know about that, I have not really known him very long.” _I don’t think he’s a bad guy though…_

Rin looked confused, “So then why...if you....ok, if you don’t know a lot about this dude, then why did you make….Pyrus said something about how you had to make a deal with him. Why did you do that if you don’t know who this is?”

Muzan’s smile faded, “Well….because he can grant me this power, and it can help me save my family.”

“Your family’s in trouble?”

“Yes...yes they are.”

“Is that why we’re going on a boat?”

“It is.”

There was a short pause before Rin confidently said, “We gotta get there fast then, don’t we?”

“That is partially why I got these scrolls. I...I don’t know how they are doing; I don’t know if they’ve already been captured or killed or what. But there are some very bad people after them. People I know.”

“Like who?”

“Pirates.”

It was as if Muzan could see a light go on above Rin’s head, “ _Thaat’s_ why you said pirates are bad guys; because you’ve met them.”

“Yes. I’ve known them for a long time. And they _are_ very bad people. And Locke is going to help me kill them.”

“He’s not the only one,” Rin replied with no hesitation.

Muzan was grateful, “That is….where I found the weapon. It was with them…...at first it was out of desperation but...not anymore.”

“You found the weapon out of desperation when you were with the pirates or with your family?”

“No, I first used it that way… But uhh...I wasn’t lying, it was found in a spooky place, full of dust and bones. But I was….not by myself.” Thoughts of Nash and the many raids they had forced him to go on clouded his mind, and he frowned as he tried to push them away.

Rin noticed Muzan struggling, “Um...nevermind. It’s ok. If you want to tell me anything, you’re welcome to but you don’t have to.”

But Muzan shook his head, “I do not mind talking about it, I’m just...not used to it. You like to ask a lot of questions so...feel free.”

“I do….I’m curious, apparently knowing things is good. Heheh, who knew that….”

“Well, it can be. Knowledge is always useful.” Muzan could tell Rin wanted to say more though, and he waited patiently for him to say what else was on his mind.

A few moments later he looked up at Muzan and said, “Apparently I can do the things I can do because my parents were fucking around with some magical item...annnd then they didn’t know that it was...the whole time putting magic into me. Haha. So….yeah. Just found that out about, uhhhh you know, 4 minutes ago. 4 minutes and 37 seconds...I think, exactly.”

 _Holy shit. He might not have been a mistake, but that sure sounds like it was..._ “That is...that’s quite a lot.”

“Yeah,” Rin sighed shakily, “it’s a little bit of a lot.”

“And your parents….they never told you?”

“I don’t know why….but they’re gonna…………I’m gonna try to find a way to talk to them. Maybe I can make a sending stone and I can mail it to my mom. That will only take like…..6 months, haha. Especially because we’re going...further...away from them…. Well! I guess if my mom wants to talk to me...she’s just gonna have to talk to _me_. I...honestly I don’t even know if I want to talk to her right now, because..why didn’t she tell me this my whole entire life?”

“That is very fair. Gives you time to think about it….”

“Selfish of her…”

“What if you...hmm...sometimes writing it down helps?”

“Oh yeah...I’m gonna write a lot of it in my journal tonight.”

“Are….are you going to be ok?”

“Yeah, I’m great.”

Muzan doubted that Rin was ‘great’, but he was surprised at how calm and genuine Rin seemed. _It is a lot to process after all…._ “Well..even if it is because of _this_ that you are magical...I think you use it pretty well.”

“Thanks!” Rin then launched into a rant about how his magic was cooler in the first place because he didn’t have to spend all the time that wizards did to learn it. He spent the next several minutes talking about how dumb wizards were and how most of them were probably full of themselves anyway.

Muzan laughed, “I mean, do you see how stressed some of the students here look?”

“Right?!” Rin said, and he turned and cast a gust to rustle some of the trees, “See, I don’t even have to think about it, it’s just natural. I don’t have to read a book about it, I can just do it!”

They both heard a voice interrupt them, “Uhh...yeah, you can do it out of here too. Please don’t cast anything in the grove…it disturbs the trees and the birds...plants and such...just don’t do it.” One of the mages guarding the entrance had come in to see what all the noise was and was looking at them very bored.

Muzan wondered how much of Rin’s rant the guard had heard, as his small friend had not been quiet, but Rin seemed oblivious as he asked the guard excitedly what the flowers did and why they glowed the way they did.

The guard told them that he thought they were trying to mess with phosphorescent minerals and make the most optimal experience, but he didn’t know the specifics behind it. After asking them again to not use magic in the grove, the guard left them to return to his post.

As Muzan watched the guard leave, Rin got close to one of the flowers. He quietly pulled out his journal and plucked one of them, quickly pressing it between the pages and shutting it before Muzan or the guards could see. He tucked the book away and hastily said “Hey Muzan lets go!”

Muzan wondered what Rin’s hurry was, but he followed him out and they made their way back to the lab. As they walked back Muzan noticed that Rin would scoff lightly whenever they passed one of the students, and he hid a smile behind his hand.

In the lab Rin looked through the list of magical items that they currently had materials for, excitedly pointing out different things he could try to make.

After they had been discussing the merits of different items and how useful some of them would be on their voyage, Muzan paused for a moment. He had been feeling a bit guilty for not answering Rin’s questions fully. "On what Pyrus said....” he began, “it was not my intention to hide things from you Rin, this is all just a bit of a new experience for me."

"Oh ok. I mean that's your business. I'm glad you told me! After I asked you.."  
And Rin thought for a second, "I mean, you really don't have to share anything you don't want to. But secrets are lame."

Muzan looked a bit guilty at that. _He’s right, secrets are lame. If we are to go after the Shadow Raiders they will need to know more about them…_

"Those pirates after my family.....when we came across the glaive I was a....part of the crew at the time. The glaive is how I was finally able to escape them."

“Were you forced into being a pirate?”

"In a way...I was a year older than you are now. They came to our village in the night. I got in the way of one of them hurting someone I cared about and he didn't take kindly to that. So, I was taken with them. For the first several years I was just a captive, but I was given a choice. The captain thought I could be useful, you see, with my little arcane knowledge. I would either be sold at the next port as a slave or join the crew. I chose to join the crew. It seemed to be the better option at the time but now? I'm not so sure..."

"Oh Muzan... I'm sorry. That's terrible," and Rin hugged Muzan around the waist.

Muzan was a bit shocked, but after a moment he hugged Rin back. "Thank you. I've seen them do some pretty terrible things. Now that I know they are still alive I hope to put an end to it, this....injustice. I believe it's something my....patron?..would want as well. It is one of the few things he requires of me..."

"It sounds like it is a good person. Being. Thing... Noun??"

Muzan nodded, "I saw him in a dream not too long ago. He looked like a man? I don't know enough to say that he's good, but I believe that he is not evil."

"It's funny his name is Lock if he wants to free people. Maybe he's locked up and needs you to rescue him."

"Heh, yes it is a bit funny. I do think he is the one locked up. Or at least bound to this weapon...."

"So your glaive is a prison that you hit people with? That's metal"

"Hmmmmm, I don't think that's quite right. It seems to be more of a conduit? But that does sound pretty 'metal' as you say, haha."

"Conduit? A prison conduit?"

"Hahaha, a conduit for the magic. I don't think it's really a prison." Though Muzan wondered if that were true or not. While the place he had met Locke looked like another plane, he knew Locke was bound to the weapon in some form. Maybe Rin was right.

"More of a jail?"

Muzan thought about the weird desert that he had seen, "Ehhh, I don't think he's actually imprisoned _in_ the glaive? He was in some sort of desert place when I saw him. It was strange....hard to breathe. Definitely not on our plane."

"Weird. Where do you think it was?"

"You know, I've thought about it and I'm not sure. It did not seem like a very hospitable place. I feel a bit bad for him. He looked pretty beat to shit, like he's been through the hells and back."

"Do you think we should try to free him?"

"Hmm, I don't know if that's even a possibility. I might ask him next time we talk though..." _Whenever that is..._

"Good idea! I know I sometimes get annoyed with my family, but I am actually glad to have them, ya know, not in peril. I hope we can get your family out of trouble too."

Muzan took a shaky breath, "Thanks Rin, I hope we can too. You probably don't want to hear this......but I'm sure your moms didn't want to hurt you, even if they didn't tell you about how you got your magic."

Rin’s face looked a bit sullen, "Yeah well they didn't have to want to hurt me to hurt me."

"Oh of course not. That is often the way of things. You should definitely let them know that.....when you feel like it."

"Yeah... Hey look what Xija can do!" Rin suddenly poured some water in Xija's mouth, then she shot it in a stream at Muzan’s face.

The suddenness of it made Muzan burst out laughing, "Hahahahaha, such a talented tiny creature!" 

He continued to pour over the magical items with Rin and talk about the interesting ones that caught his eye. Rin would talk so fast at times that Muzan had a hard time understanding him. Muzan could tell that he was obviously extremely excited as Rin then went on to ask if there was anything Muzan needed to have made.

Muzan looked through the list and pointed a few items out, there was an interesting pair of boots and a wind fan. He asked a few questions and mentioned that he was thinking of attempting at making something himself.

Rin’s eyes grew huge at that and he exclaimed, "WE CAN MAKE STUFF TOGETHER!!"

They stayed in the lab talking about the different magic items until it had gotten very late at night. As they sat there together, they began to hear faint booming sounds in the distance.

They looked at each other curiously and rushed out of the lab, running outside to a spectacular sight. As they got a clear view of the sky, they could see streaks of light trail up into the darkness. They watched as one went up, up, up, and gasped in awe as it suddenly bloomed in the night sky. The colors expanded outward, followed by a thunderous crack. The fireworks kept coming, one after the other. 

Rin looked at Muzan, and he could see the barely contained urge to dash out into the night to find the source.

“Let’s go find out what’s happening!”

And they rushed towards the light and sound.


	5. Cirque du Fortuna

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kharbek has a date, Sol goes off by himself, the circus has come to Free Harbor with an interesting play and some familiar faces. Naturally, there are shenanigans afterward.

Muzan walked through the busy streets with Rin, following the fireworks northeast towards the 10th district of Hightown. As they got closer the crowd grew, and they could hear excited chatter about a performing troupe that was putting on a show that night. 

Muzan could feel the excitement bubbling inside of him. He’d never seen a performance like this before! He hurried along with Rin and they made their way into Hightown. As they got close to the source of the noises they were greeted with a large tent, with criers outside drawing the crowds of people in. 

“Muzan, do you think someday we’ll be able to make fireworks like that? I wanna make explosions like that, that would be so cool!”

“I’m sure you could do it Rin!” he looked around at the different entertainers as a few more fireworks went off and then looked at the tent. “What do you think is inside?”

“I don’t know!” Rin seemed equally excited.

Muzan looked down at him, asking “Have you ever seen anything like this?”

“No!”

They both looked around at the crowd and saw the familiar forms of Dracotaurus, All Smite, and Orianna.

“Oh hey!” Rin waved at them.

Dracotaurus hailed him back, and Orianna called out to ask them if they’d come to see the show. Muzan and Rin joined up with them, excitedly asking what they knew of the show. All Smite looked at Orianna and asked if she was going to join the performers since they all knew she was a performer as well. She smiled, saying “I might…” and gave Dracotaurus a knowing look.

Muzan noticed the two of them exchange glances and asked, “What, do you know something?”

But Orianna just smirked, “You’ll just have to wait and see~”

“Do you know these people Orianna?” Rin asked her.

“You’ll just have to wait and see,” she repeated mysteriously, poking Rin on the nose.

Muzan’s excitement grew as he recalled their conversation when she told him about the group that she had traveled with. He did not expect to get an opportunity to see them so soon! But, Orianna seemed to want it to be a surprise, so he kept his silence.

They waited in line for over 45 minutes before they could get inside. As they walked in the entrance they got a clearer view of the different stages. They saw different torches that were lit, and they could see that closer to the stage there were more globules of magical light that were being conjured. 

Shortly after they entered the magical lights started to dim, and the center stage was beginning to be prepared. They could see a structure with different pulleys and mechanisms that were being checked and secured, something they would be using for the show. 

When they had entered there were a few performers who had been engaging with the crowd and entertaining in a way that was geared towards the younger ones in the audience. Soon afterward there was a transition and the mood went from one of jovial lightheartedness to that of a more serious and sultry tone. There were a couple of female performers who began performing some suggestive acts on the stage, but nothing too overt. One of them had very fair and almost elven features, and the other was a muscular human woman.

The music and singing that accompanied the two drifted into a harsher language that none in the group quite recognized. As they brought this sultry song and dance to a close, the two women drew close together and the muscular woman gracefully dipped the other. They both stood and started out at the crows, smiling and bowing at the cheers from the crowd as the curtains of the stage closed.

The lights dimmed further and the only sounds left were the excited murmuring of the crowd. Muzan and the others were led into a general vicinity towards the back, almost up against the tent walls. People were still trying to squeeze in, and they could hear the guards catching some who were trying to sneak under the tent to get inside.

“That was AMAZING!” All Smite cheered.

“I think it was? I can’t quite tell from back here.” Rin said, standing on his tiptoes.

“You are kind of short, do you need a boost?” Muzan asked him.

“Yeah!”

“Well come on up then!” Dracotaurus offered, and Rin climbed up on his shoulders.

They all watched as a half-orc man presented himself, and the lights focused on him. He looked at everybody, clasped his hands, and nodded while smiling. He began to speak in a booming, ostentatious voice, “Welcome! One and all...to a performance never before seen to the _mortal eye_. It is by the magical threads of fate that this serendipitous motley crew is here before you...I must warn you that while tonight's festivities have been fun and games, we are not afraid to delve into the deepest recesses of your mind. So, if you are faint of heart, or weak fortitude, leave now,” he paused for only a few seconds before continuing with, “VERY GOOD!”

His voice filled the tent despite its grand size, and the murmuring quieted down. It almost sounded as if his voice was being magically enhanced, aided by the different magical practitioners of the troupe. “This came to our wonderful Phillipa, the Circus of Fortune, an otherworldly dream we are going to show you. So brace yourselves, hold your dearest close...and let the magic begin!” And the lights faded to darkness.

Music began to play, and light focused on two dancers that began to descend from the air, down the center of the stage. One of them wearing sapphire and azure garb, the other in a dark red blood color. They were spinning between each other in a fantastic aerial display that had the group in awe. After a while, they began to see smoke rising around the two dancers. It swirled up and formed into a monstrous head that started to snap at them. 

The dancers jumped out of the way and struck at it, different ribbons coming out to show their striking at it and trying to fight it. They could see the two dancers blades cutting the head, but each time it would reform and strike at them again. Again, and again, and again. As the dancers continued to fight, they grabbed arms and began to spin around, containing the smoky tornado and driving it down to the ground. As they twirled and spun to the ground, they landed and there was silence. A few members of the audience applauded during the slight pause.

Then the two dancers ascended again. This time as they rose into the air they began trading blows with each other, different crimson material flowing out of their outfits as they struck each other. As they continued, the endless battle seemed indefatigable, and the display itself was a feat of strength as they went on and on. The darkness eventually took them as the stage transitioned to a new scene that was being shown. 

In addition to more singing in that strange language when they first entered, they could see a woman carrying a bundle. There were people around her, dancing in jubilation. The two fighters in the air above continued on, but the darkness continued to envelop them as the focus shifted to this new scene of community and the bundle the woman was holding. 

All of a sudden they saw that same dark smoke return, manifesting in a different shape and reaching out towards the jovial group. Though none of the happily dancing people seemed to notice the danger that they were in. It was almost upsetting how the juxtaposition of such joy and terror was happening at once as the dark figure came for them. It reached out and grabbed the bundle and immediately cut it asunder, creating a black wound that began to fester. Though they could see that there was a little redness on the inside of it, matching a heartbeat.

Eventually they saw this being, the centerpiece of the play itself, beginning to free itself from this depicted village. They watched as it grew up into an individual, with various scenes being depicted by the many different dancers. The festering wound ever-present.

Orianna and Dracotaurus both recognized the person playing the strange individual, though it was odd to see them playing a male character. It was the same fair featured woman from the dance in the beginning. They watched as she sang in different instances, still in the strange language.

Suddenly the azure and blood clad figures came back and snatched this main individual. The three began to struggle. The individual was able to get free with the help of another figure that joined the group on the stage. This new person wore seemingly drab and normal clothes, nothing distinguishing. All throughout, the protagonist still had the festering black gash that seemed to be a magical manifestation, not part of the costume or makeup. Smoke was billowing out of it, and as they fought it continued to get worse and worse. The struggle then became a dance between the protagonist and his rescuer. They embraced each other and the music transitioned into some sort of romantic waltz. They were orbited by the azure and blood clad figures, who watched them as they circled, tired from fighting. Suddenly they struck out, grabbing the rescuer and dragging him away.

The protagonist fell to his knees, grabbing at his hair and beating his chest. He screamed and the darkness enveloped the stage once more. He ripped off his shirt and they could see the large pulsating wound, and everyone could hear a maniacal chuckling filling the tent. The protagonist seemed to open their chest with their hands, and a clawed hand extended out towards the audience.

Muzan gasped as the hand looked like it was reaching straight for his throat before it dissipated and the stage curtains dropped. He could feel goosebumps on his skin, and he looked around at the others. Based on everyone’s reactions it looked like they had seen the same image of the hand reaching out to them. _Damn...that was quite some trick.._ he rubbed his throat unconsciously as the performers all stepped out on the stage to bow out.

There was a moment of silence before slow clapping began, many people of the audience still shaking themselves out of the shock. 

The half-orc man returned, listing off the different performers and what parts they had played, including the mage who did most of the special effects. After they had all bowed, they made their exit. More applause came forth at the second group bow as the audience recovered from the strange performance.

“Orianna, do you know that story?” Rin asked.

“No..” she responded looking thoughtful.

People began to file out of the tent but they remained in place. It was too crowded to try and exit just yet.

“That was...really impressive..that was really cool!” Muzan said, still at a loss for words, and Orianna chuckled. “Are they performing again? Can we come back?” he asked her.

“Oh I hope so. I’m sure they will. I have a feeling they’re here for a reason.” 

Orianna looked over at Dracotaurus and he whispered “Do you wanna go say hi?!”

“Of course!” she responded, and the group slowly made their way forward to the stage, Dracotaurus and All Smite helpfully making a path through the crowd for them. They saw Kharbek in the crowd and waved at him, though it looked like he was on a date. He waved back and left with his lady friend, probably to find somewhere with food.

There were a few guards at the stage that tried to turn them away before the half-orc announcer came up and put an arm around both Orianna and Dracotaurus’ shoulders, telling the guards “This one’s fine, go on, get out of here!”

The group watched as the man enthusiastically greeted Orianna and Dracotaurus, and they exchanged a few words. Muzan could see that he was very familiar with both, and there was a fondness in his voice when he spoke. He told them that the crew would want to see them again and invited them all in.

He brought them backstage and they saw a decent group of people in the process of breaking things down and cleaning up. Muzan saw a couple of halflings, male and female, up in the rafters taking apart some of the equipment. Orianna waved at them and the man waved back at her. As he waved it looked like he started to fall before the woman caught him, shaking her head.

“That’s why you married her!” Orianna shouted up at them, laughing.

The man shrugged and let out an “Ehheah” in half agreement before continuing his work with his wife.

In front of them there was an elf woman with dark hair that was speaking with another taller woman with dirty blonde hair. The first one noticed them approaching, and seeing Orianna she ran over to greet them excitedly.

Orianna rushed up to the woman and she grasped Orianna’s hands and gave her a kiss. Orianna kissed her back, hugging her tightly. 

The half-orc man looked at the group and then back at Orianna and Dracotaurus, “So, seems like, uh, you guys found some friends eh?”

“So it would seem.” Orianna responded, still holding onto the elf woman. “You guys are doing pretty well yourselves.”

“I can’t believe I landed this one. This is gonna bring me so much money!”

“Good, you deserve it!”

He talked about the troupe’s journey to Free Harbor a bit, how there hadn't been much business on the way, and then turned to look at the group. “So who are all these motherfuckers?” he asked her.

“I’m Rin, hi!” Rin said from Dracotaurus’ back.

“Oh! Hey!” the man looked up a Rin with a smile.

“He’s a bundle of energy.” Orianna mentioned.

“I see that!”

“Don’t let him near anything volatile.” she told him.

Muzan saw Rin’s face fall after she said that.

“But--I--I’m...I” Rin started to sputter.

Muzan spoke up, “Actually he does quite well, I was in the lab with him.” He thought Orianna was being a bit unfair.

“Thank you!” Rin turned and smiled down at Muzan.

The half-orc man turned to look at one of the people finishing up, “Ezbern! The light ‘em ups? Lock ‘em up.”

There were a few chuckles as the man named Ezbern acknowledged the request.

“Are you talking about those explosions in the sky?” Rin asked.

“Yeees, well, not me personally. The larger circus puts that on. Not something that’s at my disposal. But, I was able to take part in it. I got to set one off, that was fun.”

“That does seem fun!” Rin agreed.

The man clapped his hands together, “Alright, bundle of energy named Rin! Who’s the red one, who’s the shiny one?”

All Smite stepped forward, “I am All Smite!” and he clasped hands with the man in a strong handshake.

“Is he part of a troupe? Look how shiny this guy is!”

Orianna laughed, “He’s a regular beacon of light…” though there was a hint of sarcasm in her voice that could be easily missed.

“I know! We could use that.”

All Smite looked surprised, “That’s the nicest thing she’s actually ever said to me! Thank you Orianna!”

She just rolled her eyes as the others laughed. 

“That might be the nicest thing she’s ever said period..” Rin muttered.

Dracotaurus nodded in agreement, “That’s possible.”

“It seems like my beacon of light is spreading in an interesting way!” All Smite said happily.

“In the most irritating fashion sometimes, but y’know, it is what it is.” Orianna quipped back at him.

The half-orc just laughed, “Hey, I’m thinking---I mean that kind of..that showmanship? That positivity? That can make you a lot of money real fast and it just is infectious, it’s great! Wonderful!”

Orianna shook her head at him saying, “Tarak, he’s too good for his own good.”

“......eahhhh. At least it’s not the other way.” Tarak said, then he looked at Muzan expectantly.

Muzan stepped forward, smiling and offering his hand, “Hello, I am Muzan! I have heard good things about you!”

Taruk’s eyes lit up at hearing Muzan’s accent, “Ahh you’re not from around here are ya?”

“No, I am not.”

“Mm, welcome! Hope you enjoyed yourselves. Hope it wasn’t too much. First time we’ve dealt with an illusionist in our group.”

“No, it was fantastic!” Muzan reassured him with a big grin. It had been the most amazing thing he had ever seen!

“You can thank Sutur for that!” and Taruk gestured to an individual off to the side. The man had a dark olive skin with green eyes and brown hair, dressed plainly in earthen tones. He just nodded slightly, and Muzan got the impression that he wasn’t the talkative type like Tarak was.

“Oh! I’ll introduce a couple other people. This is Phillipa!” and he gestured at the woman with the dirty blonde hair.

She walked up to them saying, “Hello, how do you do?” She was tall, and very well built. They recognized her as the woman playing one of the main dancers in the show.

There was a shy silence as they realized who they were face-to-face with.

“Well no one else speak at once then…” she said.

Rin started in shyly, “Hi Phillipa, I’m Rin..um. You’re...you did a really good job playing...I don’t know your character’s name. What was your character’s name?”

“Yes, what was the story?” Muzan added.

“Well, I did not so much..I’m more of a playwright in this regard, I did not directly play in this one aside from a few side characters, uh, the ones that the, uh, the cursed one was fighting along the way. I play a couple of those characters and a couple village people, but, um, no I--it’s--I mean, as a point of showmanship and as a point of, well, sellability, we say that it came to me in a dream. But it really did! Um, this um...these images. I put them together best I could. I thought that they might sell and we’ll see if people come back. I think at least it will get them talking about us.” As she talked she had a sort of demure and humble air to her, her voice soft.

“Yes that hand trick was quite something..” All Smite said.

Muzan nodded, “Alarming…” and he rubbed his neck as he remembered the vivid imagery.

“Yes, yes, um. First try with that, might not do something like that again. We’ll see what kind of response we get and then we will adjust based on that.” Phillipa remarked.

“No no, I think it definitely added to the thrill of it all.” Muzan told her.

She looked thoughtful still and continued on, “But we normally, I mean, in my culture we...there are many stories that have somewhat of a lesson. But this one is just a bit...darker. It doesn’t really offer as much of a moral, just..I don’t know I feel as though you can just interpret it for yourself. But, I’m normally not comfortable doing this sort of play, so I hope that we do well. Normally there’s some sort of moral or very clear endpoint, but this one is a bit..well, how the people in the common tongue say...Avant-Garde? Something of that nature?”

“Maybe you will have another dream?” Muzan commented, thinking of his own strange dreams of late.

“Hmm, maybe so.” 

“Well I would definitely watch it again.” Dracotaurus spoke up, Rin still on his back.

“I’m glad! You have a very curious...are you a performer as well?” she asked him, looking at his strange appearance. 

“Yeah you could say that.”

“I...suppose I would be interested to see that, why don’t you take off your mask?”

“Uh what? What mask?”

Phillipa smiled, “Ahh I see, fully immersed into the...ah you’re good.”

“You have a face under there right?” All Smite asked hesitantly.

“That is his face” Muzan responded automatically, though a slight smile curled at his lips.

“This..is my face?” Draco told All Smite confused.

“Can you not see that this is his face All Smite?” Orianna remarked with a sly grin.

“He has said so before.” Muzan said matter-of-factly, though he couldn’t keep the laughter out of his eyes. Whatever the case was, Muzan had been around Dracotaurus enough to know that he really did seem to believe that he was not wearing a mask. It was one of the many interesting things about the man that Muzan hoped to learn about one day.

All Smite looked nonplussed as he glanced between the two of them and back at Dracotaurus, unsure how to respond.

Orianna chuckled and looked back at Phillipa, “That being said, no, both Dracotaurus and I were originally part of Tarak’s troupe.”

“Oh, I mean, very good. Tarak has told me a little bit about you.” and she looked at Dracotaurus apologetically, “Less so, sorry, about you…”

Tarak threw his hands up in the air, “Sure! Just put that right out in the open. He was only with us for a few months, what do I say?”

They all laughed and Muzan listened to the playful banter between Tarak and the others.

“How long are you going to be in town? Will we be able to come back to see you again?” Muzan asked as the conversation lulled.

Tarak looked at Phillipa and said that it was up to Phillipa. Maybe another week, maybe more if they did well.

Hearing that Orianna asked him if Phillipa was part of their troupe or if she was in charge of the Cirque. But he shook his head and told them that she was a part of Fortune and was kind enough to let them join.

Phillipa chimed in, "You had the talent, it was worthwhile. We do not overlook these things."

"Well Tarak, if it makes you a lot of money…" Orianna said.

"I’m hoping it does." Tarak responding, looking quite pleased.

"You had a really good crowd tonight."

"Yeah, I don’t think I’ve ever seen that many people gathered for us. I’ll take it!"

"Were you nervous?" Rin asked.

Tarak laughed boisterously, "Haha! Never!"

Rin smiled nervously, "Haha...I wish I could not be nervous…"

Tarak waved his hand at Rin reassuredly, "Ahh, it comes with time. First, you have to be okay about being nervous. Sometimes if you're good enough at what you’re doing...you don’t even think about it."

"Huh..I gotta get good..I think, is what you’re saying." Rin responded thoughtfully.

"You just have to learn to face your fears, that’s all." Orianna told him.

"You gotta get good at gettin’ nervous first. Then you can learn how to not be nervous." Tarak followed up.

"...ok."

"Just be patient with yourself Rin." Orianna said.

Rin nodded, "Ok......I was pretty scared when I almost died."

Tarak looked a bit surprised, "You’re pretty young to almost die already!"

"Yeah well...I didn’t though!"

"I see that, unless, ya know, you’re undead in which case I’d have to kill you. Probably. I think that’s...isn’t that how--"

"No I’ve got a scar, see!" and Rin pulled up his shirt to show the scar, but there was nothing but bare skin due to the healing he had received.

"Alright...uh...." Tarak just looked at Rin confused and a bit unsure of what there was to be seen.

Muzan noticed that the entire time they were talking Orianna had her arm around the elven woman’s waist and vice versa. Holding tight. Whispering to each other and giggling every once in a while. Looking at All Smite and giggling at his obliviousness. 

Rin kept glancing at them, but he was doing a very bad job of hiding it.

The woman noticed this and walked over to him saying, “Well, aren’t you just the cutest _thing_!” and pinched his cheek.

“Oh! Uh, yeah! Yeah...I...I guess I’m cute. Thanks?” Rin responded nervously, his voice noticeably a bit higher.

She let go of Rin and squeezed Dracotaurus’s tricep a bit before she walked back to Orianna.

Tarak clapped his hands together, "Ah, so! Drinks? Everyone?" and it was met with enthusiastic agreement from all.

As they began to head out Muzan remembered the scroll he had gotten for Orianna. He stopped her for a second and handed her the scroll. She asked him how much it was and paid him for it.

Tarak led them to a place further northeast in the Oinean ward called The Wizard’s Cup. The lands around it were pretty, with some rolling hills and many grape vineyards around.

The sign above it had a wizard holding a cup with smoke coming out of it and the wizard looked extremely drunk. Inside there was a decent-sized dwarf running the place. It was bustling with people but he seemed to be pretty on top of it. Tarak looked around, and spotting a waiter he grabbed him and palmed him some money. They were then led to a nice large table. Looking around the inside they could see that it had nice vaulted ceilings and the walls were covered in wine bottles everywhere they could fit. 

Once they were seated Tarak looked at them all, "So, what’s you guys’ gig?"

"Gig?" Muzan asked, "We don’t really have one…"

"Oh, you’re just out for hire then? Buncha mercenaries? I can dig it."

"We’re going on a boat soon." Muzan answered.

"I was gonna say..." Dracotaurus agreed at the same time that All Smite said "We’re travelers!"

"Ohh!" Tarak nodded.

"In a few days or somethin?" Rin held up his fingers to count, trying to remember how much time had passed.

"Ahh, where you goin?" Tarak asked them.

"To the Vespan Islands" Muzan told him.

Tarak whistled, "All right, ah well, that’s uh...a little ways! That’s uh...good luck! That’s quite a journey. Hope you have a decent ship. On a passenger vessel?"

Muzan shook his head, "Mmmmm, not sure. We have yet to see it. But it sounds a bit faster than just a simple passenger ship." and he tried to remember the name that Dorian had told them.

"Alright."

"The Ladyhawke." Muzan suddenly remembered.

"Captain Dorian...you heard of him?" Orianna asked.

"Can’t say I have!"

"He’s a darker-skinned elf….should be interesting..." Orianna mused.

"Hmmm." Tarak nodded, pondering "I met a drow once. He sucked."

"Sounds about right." Dracotaurus said matter-of-factly.

"Well hopefully he doesn’t." Orianna responded.

"Well I mean this one also was kinda just….he definitely cheated at the last game of cards I played, so..."

Orianna and Muzan exchanged a look, remembering the people who barged in on their meeting with Dorian. They were complaining about a cheated game as well.

"What did he look like?" they both asked him.

Tarak put a hand on his chin, thinking hard, "Let’s see...had a hat. It was flat. Carried this weird...package on his side."

They all nodded in recognition, and there were numerous "Yup that was him" muttered.

"Did he have a firbolg friend?" Rin asked, but Tarak looked quizzical at the word.

"A giant creature, white fur…" Orianna added helpfully.

Tarak shrugged, "I don’t know, I didn’t see anything like that."

Orianna thought for a second, "Or uh, a woman with short brown hair?"

"Very sassy…" Muzan quipped.

"Veeery sassy" Orianna agreed, grinning.

"I’ve seen ‘em...buuuut.." Tarak shrugged again. "Alright, uh, might be the same guy?"

"Well, where’d you meet him?" Orianna asked him.

"Oooh, that was….north." and he gestured vaguely.

"In the city?" Rin chimed in.

"Nooo, no." and Tarak gestured again to indicate that it was much farther.

"Is this before you met me?" Orianna asked him curiously.

"Yeah, yeah it was. We...not too far off the coast but on the western side of the elven forest."

"Hmm...guess we’ll have to ask him."

"He was at an inn...little shit.." Tarak muttered, still thinking about that card game.

Orianna laughed at him, "Well, hopefully, he didn’t swindle you too badly."

"Well, I never bet _that_ much." Tarak responded, and they all saw Ezburne, the halfling man, just shaking his head.

Orianna looked at Ezburne and said quietly, “You’ve gotta keep a better eye on him!”

Ezburne shrugged and was gesticulating how hard that was to her when he suddenly was pinched by his wife. He yelped, crying “Aaah! Woman!”

"Yeah, that’s uh….that was a long time ago….crafty little shit…...anyway," Tarak said, bringing himself out of his memories.

"We may need crafty." Muzan thought aloud.

"It’s true" Orianna agreed.

"Seemed a little bit freaked out….eh, it’s probably nothing" Tarak continued on.

"Wait, who was freaked out?" Muzan asked him.

"Ahh, the shifty bastard, seemed weird."

Muzan frowned a bit, "Weird how?"

"I don’t know, like someone who was...getting away from something." Tarak answered after thinking for a moment.

"Hm..." Muzan could identify with that. Dorian may not be an honest man, but he didn't seem to be like any pirates he had encountered.

"Some people I’ve run into before...you can tell. Anyway who wants, uh, how about first round on me? How’s that sound?"

"Sounds great, what are we drinking?" Rin asked excitedly.

Orianna leaned over and whispered to Tarak, "Don’t give him alcohol…"

"Why, is it funny?" Tarak whispered back.

"It might be destructive."

Tarak grinned and started laughing, "I like it!"

He whispered to a waiter and several different deep red to purple bottles of wine and goblets are brought to them. There were some deeper plum colored ones and more red ones. They asked which one would be sweeter and Tarak told them that the plum-colored ones were what they would want. Rin, Orianna, and Muzan chose to try that one. Upon the first taste, it was indeed very sweet, but it was also very, very strong. Tarak watched them drink it with a wide, shit-eating grin across his face.

"Ohhh you asshole" Orianna laughed once she saw his face.

Tarak's grin grew wider, "I know! Hahaha!"

"Good choice" Orianna said as she continued to drink.

"Mm, it’s quite strong…" Muzan agreed, the sweet flavor already making his head feel fuzzy. It was a very good wine.

They all continued to drink and have fun. After finishing his second glass of the plum wine, Rin put his head on Muzan’s shoulder.

Muzan looked over at him, smiling, "Are you ok? I think you should stop at one...or at least switch to the red one."

"Why? Oh, ok..." Rin asked, a bit poutily.

"This stuff is..really strong…" Muzan answered back before pouring himself another glass of the plum wine. He was starting to feel it affect him to the point where he was sure if he stood up he might not be able to walk very far. _How can something this delicious be so intoxicating...._ he wondered hazily.

"Guys I feel really good. Does anyone wanna go for a walk or a run?!" Rin asked them all.

"Nooo.." Orianna responded a bit drunkenly before she nuzzled the elven woman who hadn't left her side.

Muzan wondered what her name was before he put a hand to his head, "No...everything is...spinning..."

Rin nuzzled up against Muzan a bit, then he stood up and started to pace near the table.

Tarak grabbed him, "…….see that empty shelf over there?"

"What empty shelf? Yeah!" Rin said excitedly.

"Right there," Tarak pointed at one of the walls.

"Ok, yeah yeah…"

"…I betcha I can climb it faster." Tarak said, grinning deviously and swaying a bit.

Rin grinned back at him, "You’re bigger than me, that’s not fair."

"I’m also…*hic*...a little drunk"

"I’ve had as much as you!"

"Do iiiiit, doooo iiiiitttt" Orianna called out to them, laughing.

"No, you haven’t" Tarak responded to Rin.

"My money’s on Rin!" All Smite shouted, and they all laughed.

"You’re smaller, you have less weight to pull!" Muzan called out to Rin encouragingly.

Rin looked at the shelf for a second, and they could see the decision to race in his eyes. He started casting a spell but Tarak just snapped his finger and counterspelled it.

"I know that one!" Tarak drunkenly crowed.

They both sprinted to the shelf and started to climb it. Tarak got up a decent height before one of the shelves snapped under his foot. As he fell, four other shelves broke on the way down. Rin quickly made it up to the top and looked down at the wreckage.

"How much money did you put on me All Smite?" Rin called down to them.

All Smite looked confused for a second, "…I said I was gonna put money on you?" and there was more laughter around the table.

"I don’t know...maybe not. The view from up here is really nice!"

Some of the employees came over to help Tarak up, but he tried to wave them off saying, "No no no!"

"Sir, you’ve had enough...please just--"

"Look, I can fix it!" and he touched one of the broken shelves and cast a mending spell. They watched as one very small piece of the shelf fixed itself while the rest of it remained broken.

Orianna called out, "Woo, go Tarak!" laughing in her friend's arms.

"…it’ll take a while! But I can do it!" he said, still waving off the employees.

"Sir you really, you’ve really had too much…"

"Listen," he sniffed, swaying, ".....I’m alright"

"He’s fiiiiine" Orianna told them.

"Listen, I’ll fix it, it’s totally fine. We’re all _friends_ here!" Tarak told them, hiding one of his hands. The employees looked at each other and strangely agreed with him, returning to their work. Tarak crawled over to them and looked relieved. Orianna gave him a thumbs up and he started pulling splinters out of his leg.

Rin sat back on the shelf and his axolotl familiar, Xija, plopped into his lap. He played with her for a little bit, his legs swinging as he relaxed on the shelf.

Muzan noticed that Orianna and her friend had started whispering a lot, with lots of kissing interspersed. _Hmmm….interesting_ The night was drawing to an end, and she left with her friend to one of the rooms. They all found their way to a room at the inn, paying the dwarven innkeeper and wobbling off to find sleep.

Muzan hazily began thinking of home and how late it would be over there and came to the conclusion that it would be sometime in the morning. He began fingering the sending scroll that he had bought, contemplating using it. After sitting a little longer he got up to go to his own room, shut the door, and sighed before he opened the scroll thinking of his mother.

“Mama, is everyone okay? What’s happening? Don’t let them know you’re close to me. I’m coming. Do whatever you need to stay safe! I love-” and he felt the spell dissipate before the final word “you” left his lips. He waited for a response, anxiety filling him despite the intoxication.

A few moments passed before he heard the bewildered voice of his mother. “Muzan? Please tell me you’re alive, please let this be real! Ah...say we’re….uhh….please you need to come back. We’re in Vespa, I don’t know how long….we’ll get by. Please, I-I just-” and her rambling was cut off. She sounded relieved but also quite worried, and his heart clutched with worry.

 _Vespa. They’re on Vespa. Who is ‘we’ though? Mama and papa? The whole village? …...Emeline? Mama said that she’s glad I’m alive? Why would she think otherwise? Who would have told her I was dead? She asked me to hurry there, is she going to be taken somewhere?_ The thoughts raced through his head.

He sat down on the bed, not knowing how he would be able to sleep. He lay back, trying to close his eyes and eventually, the exhaustion crept in.

“Locke? I have some questions for you…” he said before he drifted off in an uneasy sleep.


	6. New Leads: On the Hunt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New outfits, new bounties, and a hint at the darker side of Free Harbor.

Muzan woke up the next morning from a dreamless sleep, slightly hungover and stomach growling. He groggily went down to get some breakfast while the others slowly started to wake. Muzan had been wanting to go shop for some new clothes, and now was the perfect time to do it. He let the couple people who were awake know that he was going to go find a place to buy some clothes. Rin asked if he could go with him and Muzan smiled and told him that of course he could come. Muzan knew Rin’s birthday was coming up so he secretly decided he would buy whatever Rin wanted. _He deserves something better than that sack he wears…_

They walked around the market nearby, finding a shop that looked to be a bit higher-end. _This looks like a good place to find some fancy clothes…_ Muzan thought, and he walked inside.

A well-dressed man at the counter looked up as they entered, “Yes? How can I help you?”

“I’m looking for something to wear that’s a little bit...well..” and Muzan gestured at his clothes. The outfit was comfortable for sailing but was quite old and worn.

The tailor gasped as he inspected Muzan’s clothing, “Oh _dear_ , that is just….awful!”

“Uhh, thank..you?”

“Ridiculous!” the man continued, ignoring him.

“I mean, it’s comfortable…” Muzan said a bit hesitantly.

“I….can’t imagine why, but sure...let’s, uh...come come! Let’s go!” and the tailor clapped his hands and began to usher Muzan in when Rin walked through the door.

“Dear gods!” the man cried out in shock.

“Hi!” Rin greeted him politely.

“What IS that, is that a burlap sack?!”

Rin looked down at his ragged clothing, “Yeah...it is”

Muzan put a hand on Rin’s shoulder and looked at the tailor, “Please, please…” and he gestured to Rin’s clothes.

“I need new clothes.”

“I believe that it is my public duty...I believe that I am performing a civic duty by making sure that you don’t leave here the same! This is...oh, dear gods I need to wash my eyes!” the tailor cried out in horror.

Seeing the man’s offense, Rin immediately started taking the burlap sack off before a couple of attendants caught him saying “Oh no no dear, let’s bring you to the back, to the back.”

“Oh, ok, sorry! I thought, you said you didn’t like it so I…”

“Yes, yes, uh, just come on!” and the man led them back measured and fitted.

As they walked Muzan muttered to himself, “I didn’t think it was _that_ bad…”

Ultimately they picked a good place to be outfitted. There were many high-quality fabrics and the tailor knew what he was doing. Muzan found a nice, close-fitting pink shirt with long sleeves that ended with a silver-trimmed taper over the back of his hand. The shirt was open at the chest and tucked into a darker pink sash. He found some nice cherry-grey breeches, similar to his old ones, and a very nice pair of black boots that came up over his knees. To complete the outfit he was offered a nice loose outer robe, a patterned maroon color with short sleeves and silver trim like the shirt. The robe had a convenient opening in the back where his tail would not get tangled in the fabric.

He looked at himself in the mirror and nodded in satisfaction. _Not bad for a nobody from a small island…_ With the shirt’s design the scar across his chest was in plain view. He thought it would bother him at first, but was surprised at the confidence he felt instead. It was a reminder of the one who gave it to him, yes, but it also represented his freedom. _Everyone has scars….some are just more visible than others._ He brought himself out of his own thoughts and looked over to see what the tailor had found for Rin.

They offered a few different clothes, but Rin shook his head. He told them that wanted something loose, he liked loose clothing, and no shoes. They returned shortly with a nice teal set of loose pants that cinched at the ankles, an orange shirt, and an overly large deep orange traveling cloak that he requested to be hemmed up a bit but still with room to have the hem let out.

Muzan thought the last request was a bit odd and asked Rin why that specific requirement, but Rin just looked at him and said that he likes big clothes. Muzan shrugged, _Alright, to each his own…_

Rin went up to the counter to pay but Muzan stopped him and paid for them both. “Think of it as your birthday present.”

“Awww, you guys are so nice.” Rin beamed at him.

“I mean...it’s just me?” Muzan looked around confused.

“Well don’t you have your, um, y’know, your magic daddy? Is he always with you?” Rin asked him.

 _Again with the ‘magic daddy’_ “I don’t think it’s like that, I’m not sure…” Muzan told him.

“Oh, ok.”

“Don’t...don’t say it like that...please.” Muzan shifted uncomfortably.

“Ok!” Rin replied. Muzan wasn’t sure that it made any difference and resigned himself to the fact that Rin would forever refer to Locke as his ‘magic daddy’.

Before they left, he asked the tailor where he could find crafted jewelry for his horns. The tailor sighed, saying that it was a shame that their shop didn’t have any no matter how much he’s told the other shopkeepers they should, and he shot a look at the other employees who just shrugged and raised their hands in defense. He let Muzan know of a smithy nearby where he might be able to get some made. Muzan thanked the man and the two left the tailor shop and walked towards the Hightown Ward.

On the way to Hightown they stopped at a scroll shop called “The Dragon’s Scriptorium”. When they opened the door they were greeted by an old and putrid book smell. Usually, old books smelled pleasant, but in this place there was an underlying horrible smell that ruined it. They could see a man sitting at the counter. Muzan approached him and asked if they had any sending scrolls. The man pulled open a drawer and a large puff of smoke and dust billowed out. The man pulled out a scroll and presented it to Muzan. He shot the man a skeptical look, but still bought the sending scroll. Haggling the price down to 250 gold, it looked pretty old and fragile. Muzan asked if Rin wanted anything, and Rin asked if they had any cool magic items. Upon discovering that the shop only had scrolls, the two of them left.

“I don’t really like book stores.” Rin told him, “They’re always too quiet, and they smell weird, and everyone in there is like, everything is so muffled, and everyone is trying to be quiet, and it’s awkward and I hate it!”

Muzan laughed, “I know, I mean, it’s not like the books have ears.”

“Right, right!”

“That one did smell a bit...musty.”

“Dank!”

“Well, shall we go see if there are any other people who want to look around in the stores?”

“Sure, yeah! Let’s go, they’re probably back at that one inn or wherever that we stayed, the Slappy Bappy or somethin', I don’t know what it’s called.”

Muzan looked at him amused, “The Wizard’s Cup?” and they both returned to the Wizard’s Cup to join the others.

As they walked through the door they could see everyone gathered in the common room, and saw that Sol was holding two puppies! Rin ran up and immediately started scratching their chins. Sol knelt down with them to let him get closer. Rin laid down on the floor and the puppies crawled all over him as he lay there giggling.

Muzan watched him with a smile. Out of the corner of his eyes he saw Orianna looking at his new outfit. It looked like she was about to make fun of him, but her eyes went cold and sad for a moment as she saw the scars on his chest. Muzan felt a brief moment of self-consciousness that quickly went away as he watched Rin with the puppies. He wasn't home anymore, there was no reason to hide them.

All Smite and Sol went off on their own to shop, while the rest of them went to a place called the “Unicorn’s Arsenal”. Caelynn came along with them, sticking close to Orianna. It was an impressive warehouse of items, most of them unfortunately out of their price range. One of the items that Kharbek found was an interesting looking trident that had the power to command creatures that could swim. 

Rin looked at the trident, “Muzan, you like boats and stuff you want this? No no, it’s Kharbeks, sorry, nevermind.”

“Uh, no, I have a weapon thank you.” Muzan told him.

“Oh that’s right, you have magic daddy weapon.”

“Oh Rin….uhh that’s….I told you don’t call it...don’t say it like that.”

“Why would you call his glaive a...what?” Orianna looked at them curiously.

“That’s Muzan’s story to tell.” Rin told her.

Muzan shook his head, “Uhh that’s a story for another day.” He didn't think they had the time to get into that at the moment.

They stopped at a wand shop but didn’t find anything there other than more items they wanted but couldn’t afford. Muzan and Kharbek stopped at the blacksmith that the tailor had mentioned in order to commission a pair of horn cuffs. The place was called “Marget & Saible’s Hauberks”. There was a lady at the forge, and they could both see that it looked like she had been crying. Muzan asked if she was ok, but she shrugged it off, told them that she was fine, and asked what they were there for. Kharbek happily looked around the forge, commenting that he grew up in places like this because his mother was a smith. The lady told Muzan that his request was easily done and that they would be ready by the end of the day. Kharbek looked at some of the darker metal that the lady was working on and mentioned that he hadn’t seen iron like that in years and that she must have a good supplier. She nodded and said that her husband was the one to get good deals. Kharbek pointed out that she was talking in the past tense and they found out that her husband had passed recently after joining Prince Cailyn in one of the raids to the north. She told them that if they heard anyone spreading rumors about Aida’an saying that he’s craven to tell them they’re wrong. Aida’an had been her husband’s commander. She told them then that she needed to get back to work, but her shop had quite a bit of adamantine armor left if they needed any. Kharbek said a short prayer for her shop before he and Muzan left to meet back up with the others.

They all met up with All Smite and Sol and headed to the Carnation Apparition to meet with Dorian and give him the item he’d requested they retrieve. When they arrived they could see that the place looked very high end, and had a magically flashing sign out front. They entered to find a very fancy waiting area, a place where suitors could wait. There was a full bar, a couple of women working it. Several different women were resting on a large bed full of pillows. A couple of chairs next to it in front of a fireplace. Muzan gathered that this was an area where the courtesans would go on their breaks, laughing playfully at people walking in.

A woman at the front desk looked at the seven of them walking in, “Oh...that’s...do you have a reservation?” She asked them.

“No, we’re looking for Dorian.” Muzan told her.

“Um, our patrons are confidential.”

“Haah….well he told us to meet him here,” Muzan said uncertainly.

At that, Rin started calling out loudly, “Dorian! Dorian!”

Muzan pointed at him and told the lady, “I don’t think you want this one going door to door.”

“Um, sir, I don’t think that you should be doing that..um…” she told Rin.

“Ok, I’m sorry.” Rin stopped calling out.

“I mean you better get Dorian or we will have to go find him ourselves.” Muzan looked at her.

Just then, the door to one of the rooms to their right opened and Dorian walked out. As the door swung open they could see a woman in the room completely naked and laughing at him trying to keep him there. “I’m coming back, I’m coming back, don’t worry!” he told her.

Orianna laughed at him. His shirt was completely open and belt partially undone, but he still had his book and his gun strapped to his sides. “Well well, if it isn’t my business partners. Being real go-getters…” he said.

“We’re ahead of schedule!” Rin told him triumphantly.

“Uh, yeah.” Dorian responded, “I still got a reservation for a couple days, but uh, be willing to hear how it went for ya. How’d it go?”

“Well, we didn’t die.” Orianna pointed out.

“Well I would hope so. Because otherwise you would be some sort of undead thing.”

“No, they are the ones who did the dying.” Muzan told him.

“Who’s they? Did you kill the bastards?” Dorian asked.

“I think...well...more or less.” Muzan replied.

“More or less.” Orianna agreed.

“We disposed of them, you could say.” Kharbek added.

Muzan nodded, “Yes, we took care of the issue and we were not turned to stone.”

“Well, good. Um...were you able to procure the item that I needed?” Dorian looked at them expectantly.

Kharbek presented the necklace, saying, “That’s a really nice amulet there.”

“Shhh!” Dorian ran back into his room, shutting the door, and they heard a slam. They waited...and waited for him to return. Eleven minutes later he came back out wearing it. “Excellent, very good, very good!”

“You were definitely in a hurry to get that on…” Muzan said.

“I was in a hurry to check it, yeah.” Dorian replied.

“What are you checking it for?” Muzan asked him.

“Making sure it is what it is. And it is.”

“Isn’t it great?” Kharbek said, a bit sad that he had to give it up.

“Quite frankly it’s amazing.” Dorian agreed. “Well, never thought that I’d find anyone that could actually do this. But, you guys have filled your end of the bargain.”

“That’s the gang for ya!” Kharbek smiled.

“Sure, if that’s what you’re calling yourselves, fine by me. But, a deal’s a deal. Anyway, anyhow you want passage, I’ll grant it. As long as it’s on this plane of existence I’ll get you there.” Dorian told them.

Orianna looked at him, “So what you’re saying is that you’ll take us wherever we want whenever we want.”

“I’ll take you to _a_ place, wherever you want that to be.” Dorian told her.

“For how long?” Muzan asked.

“However long it takes to get there. Like I said, if you wanna get somewhere on this plane of existence, I’ll get you there.” came Dorian’s response.

“Is this a one way trip?”

“Yeah.” Dorian told him.

“But we brought you the thing…” Kharbek said, disappointed.

“You did. And I’m _very_ happy about it. I could be...persuaded to take you back.” Dorian said thoughtfully.

“Well, maybe once you see how useful we are on the water…” Muzan said with a smile.

Dorian grinned, “If I remember right...you’re the only one that has sea legs around here.”

“Yes,” Muzan agreed, “but like I said, we have other skills.”

“No, but I learned how to swim!” Kharbek proudly tapped his new trident on the ground, holding one of the puppies in his other hand. Some of the patrons looked at him funnily and the courtesans on break kind of giggling at him, shooting him flirty looks.

“Ah yeah, y’know...that’s good, I guess. I don’t know what the hell that is...magical I’m guessing. But give me a couple days, probably on the third I can have the boat rigged up and ready to go wherever you want to go. The Ladyhawke will take you just about anywhere and about as fast as any one of these longships out here. Even some of the war ships I’d reckon.” Dorian told them.

Muzan nodded, “Definitely need fast. You can take us to the main island of Vespa, right?”

“Yeah….yes I can.” Dorian said, looking thoughtful.

“Good.”

“It’s been a while….it’s nice over there.” and it looked like Dorian was remembering fond memories.

“Usually it is.” Muzan agreed, “Maybe not so much right now.”

“But like I said, it’s expensive to be here, annnnd you have to pay ahead of time. Usually a few months, so I’d _really_ like to get back to what I was doing.” Dorian said, turning back to his room.

Muzan grinned, “Enjoy your..time.”

“Pay the ladies well.” Orianna called after him.

“Hehehe, what do you take me for, some sort of scoundrel? Come on.” Dorian said as he walked away, opening the door to his room.

“Wait.” Muzan stopped him, “Where do we meet you?”

“Last day meet me here, or you can meet me at the docks.” Dorian pushed the door open and they caught a glimpse of another person in the room, a man in the bathtub. The woman grabbed him by the belt and dragged him in, the man starting to get up from the tub as the door closed.

The lady at the desk looked at them and asked them to leave as they were starting to make the other patrons uncomfortable. Orianna asked her about making an appointment and found out that the next opening available was about seven days from then and that people usually make reservations about 3-6 weeks ahead of time. Three months during the busy season. 

Orianna asked who the owner of the place was and the woman told her that the mistress’ name was Mistress Marigold. Orianna looked over and saw a woman in fine clothes chatting and talking with some of the other women. She walked past the front desk despite the woman’s protests and approached Mistress Marigold. There were a couple panicked protests before the lady at the desk gestured and Orianna was frozen in place with a spell. The desk woman shook her head, saying that Orianna needed an appointment to speak with the lady, and a couple other well-armed ‘patrons’ picked her up and dragged her out. They were gentle, but firm.

As the group left, Rin waved sheepishly at the women. They waved back at him coyly, and he giggled and rushed out the door.

“Well everyone, what shall we do while we wait? We have a few days.” Muzan asked them as they walked back to the inn. The group discussed various things that they wanted to do, but Kharbek stopped at a flower shop on the way to buy some flowers. 

“Is that for your friend, Kharbek?” Muzan asked the dwarf, remembering the lady he had seen with him the other night.

“Yeah, I made her sad…” Kharbek answered him.

“Why would you do that?”

“I just told her that we were leaving….and I thought it was that we were leaving tomorrow…”

“Oh no...well, I mean, you have a couple more days.”

“I know...and then maybe more after that if we come back this way.” Kharbek said.

“Oh, I would love to come back this way.” Muzan told him.

“It’s a good city. I mean, I thought I would hate it, but once you have a guide it’s nice.”

“Yes, I am glad that you have not been too terribly claustrophobic here.” 

Kharbek looked around at the buildings they were walking past, “It almost feels like...the buildings are so large...it kind of, the city gives you a hug.”

“That is a...different way of putting it, I like it.”

“Mhmm.”

“Some places it’s definitely a lot tighter hug than I want…” Muzan said, thinking of the more crowded areas.

“Mmm, true.”

“So are you just getting the flowers? You should add something to it, like uhhh, like something sweet. Does she like to eat sweet things?” Muzan asked him.

“Yes, yes. Eating, yes. We’ve done that together.”

“You should definitely pair it with the flowers.”

“Perfect!”

“Ladies tend to, well, some of them really like that.” Muzan smiled as he thought of Emeline and the various sweet things she would like.

Kharbek looked for the nearest confectioner and bought a bag of pastries, then he and Dracotaurus went to meet with his lady friend.

Muzan stopped by the blacksmith with Orianna, Caelynn, Sol, and Rin to pick up the cuffs and put them on. They fit perfectly with a satisfying snap in place.

At that point Caelynn turned to Orianna and told her that she needed to return to the inn to see if Tarak needed her, and Orianna kissed her before she left. Sol and Rin found a spot to play with and begin to train the two puppies, now named Vax and Dao.

As All Smite, Muzan, and Orianna walked by the Fox & Fox Pub they had stayed at previously, the owner saw them and stopped them. Calling out, “Oh, oh! Hey, hey hey, you uh…”

“Yes?” Muzan looked at him.

“Oh...what did they call ya..”

“They?”

“Yeah!”

“Someone looking for us?” Muzan asked curiously.

“Yeah, this stony lady. She came by lookin’ for...uh...I think she called you like….Mooshackna? Mushakna group?” The proprietor furrowed his brow, struggling with the word.

The word sounded familiar enough that Muzan took a guess, “Muxa’hna Group?”

“Yeah? Something like that?”

Muzan was confused for a moment, he didn’t remember writing that word down, “What? Ohh, haha, yes yes yes, we’re the Not a Group...Oh did I write that down wrong?” Embarrassed, he realized that he had given the name in Vespasian.

“Right...anyway she said something about a job and said to keep an eye out for ya. She seemed kinda pissed, I don’t know. But she kinda always looks like that? So…”

“Alright, uh, thank you for letting us know.”

“Yeah, yeah. Sure. Alright, you all take care now.” And the innkeeper left.

Muzan went back to let Sol know that the guild master was looking for them, and Sol and Rin joined them back at the Fox & Fox Pub.

The five of them made their way from the Fox & Fox and walked to the guild. When they entered they saw Iris looking down at her ledger and going through her notes. Without looking up she asked them, “So, you got my message?”

“Yes we did.” Muzan answered at the same time that Orianna said, “No, we’re here just for fun.”

“Well if you’re here for fun there’s some practicing pits downstairs. But if you’re here for work I’ve got some.” Iris looked up and narrowed her eyes at Sol a bit, “Really? Dogs?”

Sol shrugged, “I didn’t think I was the type….but...I don’t know.”

“They’re adorable.” Muzan smiled at the puppies.

“Well, I don’t think they’ll be quite as adorable when their brains are splattered on the ground after a while in your profession. Anyway, Sol, I got somethin’ for ya’ c’mere.”

“All right, whatcha got?” He asked her.

She put down her mug, “Well, with your troop, as it may be...pulled in quite a sum. And based on our records you were an initiate here. You have now been risen to the rank of journeyman.” and she pushed a pin towards him. He took it and thanked her, looking quite pleased.

“So that being said,” she continued, “that means that there are some jobs for you that, well, are only available to some people and, well, we’re kind of short on hands right now, so…”

“We have a lot of hands here.” Muzan told her.

“Yeah, I see...that….hopefully you’ll keep ‘em. Some people aren’t so lucky when they do this kind of work. For whatever reason you’re not going north or sailing west so, I’ll take it. There are a couple jobs that, um, one of them seems more like a milk run if you catch my meaning-”

“I don’t!” Rin interjected.

“That’s okay Rin, we’ll talk about it later.” Sol told him.

“Well I mean they’re offering quite a bit of dough. It’s actually coming from the second ward. There’s some businesses that, uh, have some debts that need to be taken care of. If you head up north they’ll give you some more information. It’s kinda more in the agrarian area where the debts are. They need someone to collect, they haven’t been paying, so. Man, that’s a hefty amount!” She looked closer at the papers, “That, split between you all, 750 gold each.”

“What’s the catch?” Sol asked her.

“I don’t know. You’ll probably have to figure it out. Some shifty people up there.”

“I was about to ask, is this legal?” 

“Oh no, it’s totally sanctioned. It’s right over there.” Iris pointed at the job board and they saw the notice with the seal of the magistrate from the second ward on it directing them to a few different families that had some sort of debt to a couple of different businesses that were listed. “And we have another issue to the northeast, uh, that road north there will take you up into the elven woods. Having some trouble. First we thought it was bandits but they seem to make off pretty quickly. We only see hoof marks in the ground and sometimes a wagon or something. But, uh, there’s some sort of ambush that keeps happening along the road there. We need someone to figure it out and either bring them to justice or kill them outright. Highwaymen are considered outlaws. They do not have protections of the law here, you can do what you will. Although that being said, if you can find some sort of leader and bring them back alive? That’ll be a bit hefty. You’re looking at about 500 gold apiece for this one. If you bring the leader back alive? You’re looking at about 800 gold each.”

“Yep, let's do that one.” Rin said.

“I prefer that to shaking down poor people for their money.” Muzan said.

“I agree.” Sol nodded.

“It’s just a job.” Iris told them, shrugging.

“It’s never just a job..” Rin responded.

Iris let them know that the farmers to the north might have more information about the bandit attacks. Some of them were just outside the walls or in the direction of the debt collection notice. She also told them that the druid folk might know some more too, but that they were more hesitant to work with the guild. Apparently, the druids were not really allowed in the city. There were no laws for it, but the guards usually found some way to kick them out.

When they asked Iris why she was so short handed, she told them that most of the mercenaries were either sailing west or going up north to fight in the skirmishes with certain Orc factions.

Sol took the notice for the bandit attacks, saying, “Pleasure as always” and they headed up to the north side of the city to investigate.

As they walked there was some discussion on what to do with the puppies, as they were very young and fragile. Kharbek let them know that he could hang onto them if anything happened. The puppies caused a little bit of trouble along the way, but it was nothing they couldn’t handle. 

It took them a couple hours to walk to the northern farms, and it was getting late enough in the day that they imagined they would be sleeping in the woods. They had reached the agrarian area of Free Harbor. Everything was a bit more spaced out. It was one of the older and lesser developed wards that was maintained for making food. They approached an inn along the road that was called the Hammer of Fire. It had a lot of blacksmith iconography and an image of an anvil on the sign. Though it was more akin to fire giants than dwarven. Rin walked inside the inn to ask the barkeep if he knew anything about the bandits harassing the caravans going northward. The barkeep didn’t know anything but he pointed them to one of the guards or families nearby. Telling him that the Lucretia of the Venisani family might know something. Rin rejoined the group and relayed what the bartender had told him.

So they headed to the Venisani clan home. It had an expansive farm, but it also looked a bit dilapidated. Rin and Muzan approached the little dull green house while the rest of the group waited.

“Lucretia! Lucretia, hello?” Rin knocked on the door.

A woman opened the door and looked down at him, “Hello, um, you’re an odd-looking fellow. Can I help you?”

They explained that they were looking for information on the bandit activity and she told them what she knew. The bandits seemed to be more active toward the evening. She pointed them in the right direction and warned them to be careful. Rin pulled out his notepad and started writing down everything she told them. He asked if there was anything else and she told them to be careful if they were ever in the 2nd ward, saying that it could be treacherous. When they commented that they had already been there and she seemed surprised to learn that they had come from the southern part of the city and not the west where the 2nd ward was. She even seemed strangely relieved. 

Rin thanked her for the information and gave an awkward high five, but she didn’t understand what he was trying to do. Upon rejoining the others, Sol told them that he saw someone sneaking around Lucretia's barn. 

Just as Sol was telling them about it, they all heard All Smite yell out toward the barn, “SUSPICIOUS PERSON, IF YOU'RE STILL OUT THERE, FACE US LIKE A TRUE MAN!”

Orianna smacked him with her tail in irritation.

“WE KNOW YOU’RE OUT THERE, COME OUT NOW!”

“All Smite, stop!” Sol said, exasperated.

“That usually doesn’t make them come out.” Muzan commented.

“We have puppies! Would you like to play with one?” Rin called out. Sol took the puppy Rin was holding when he heard this, looking concerned and keeping it away protectively. 

Wondering if it was one of the bandits, they decided if they should investigate the strange figure that was slinking about. Sol advised against it, but Rin went to investigate the barn anyway. He ran ahead with All Smite, Muzan trailing behind them on the off chance that they ran into trouble. Looking around though, they didn’t find anything. The three were beginning to think Sol was seeing things when an arrow shot out from the darkness inside of the barn and hit Rin square in the chest. He cried out in pain and a sudden gust of wind surrounded him.

Muzan shouted back for Draco and Kharbek. Orianna ran forward and sent out her whispers in the direction that the arrow came from. They heard someone cry out and the sound of footfalls running away. She pointed towards the sound and said, “There!” and began to follow them into the barn. Muzan ran inside with her and they both saw an opening in the back of the barn, nothing but fields behind it. Their mystery skulker must have escaped into the field. They investigated the area and Orianna pointed out blood on some of the plants. The others caught up to them behind the barn and they relayed what they had found, collectively deciding to pursue the stranger into the fields. Muzan ran back to get Rin who was still surrounded by wind and couldn’t hear a word he was saying. When he approached, Muzan heard in his head “WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING”. He tried to pantomime to Rin what they were doing and Rin nodded and said, “I’ll follow behind you,” in his head once more. 

All Smite and Sol led the way into the field. After a few moments, All Smite saw movement and pointed to it with his sword. But he was then hit in the shoulder with an arrow. He saw a glowing hand at the bottom of the corn stalk, causing the movement, before the hand vanished. Muzan looked to where the arrow had come from and fired blindly, along with Rin and Orianna, but they found purchase on nothing. Sol drew his rapier and disappeared into the cornstalks. 

“YOU THINK THAT HURT? COME AND FACE ME WITH SWORD AND SHIELD AND WE’LL FIGHT A DUEL OF BRAWN INSTEAD OF THIS MAGIC TRICKERY!” All Smite shouted at the field.

Muzan then spotted a red tiefling trying to sneak up on All Smite. Thinking quickly, he reached out towards the man and cast a lightning lure on him. The tiefling was pulled ten feet towards him with a leash of lightning and Muzan shouted “THERE!”

Immediately Orianna cast a holding spell on him and he was frozen. She walked up and grabbed him, All Smite joining her. They were able to manacle him and Muzan disarmed him. As the holding spell wore off he began hissing and cursing at them. “Fucking stupid!”

All Smite asked him if there were any other pursuers. 

“Yes you are really stupid.” Muzan told the man, and he glared and hissed at him.

“There’s no one coming after you, you fucking idiot,” the man told All Smite. “You got in my way. Were going to reveal my position. And now I’m fucked.” 

“Well what were you trying to do?” Orianna asked.

“He was hunting the other bandits as well, is that right?” All Smite surmised.

But the man just bit his lip until it bled, not answering and looking extremely pissed off.

“Who are you working for?” Muzan asked him.

Orianna got close to his face and ran her hand down the side of it, “And why don’t you tell us what you were doing darling?” But he merely spat at her. “Well that’s awfully rude,” she told him. “Got something against me?”

“Fucking bards…if you wanna do me in just fuckin do it. Else get the guard.”

Kharbek attempted to cast a zone of truth on him, but the spell didn't take hold. 

“What do you have against bards?” Orianna asked the man.

“Fucking magic, mess with your head..”

“Only when you try to shoot at my friends.”

“Your friends were getting after me. One of them was heavily armed, the other one looked like...well...I don’t know what the hell he is.”

“You were the one who was acting suspicious.” Muzan told him.

“Yeah, well, you weren’t supposed to fuckin see me. I’m rusty…”

“Well, that’s your fault.” Muzan quipped.

“What’re you gonna do? You gonna kill me in the middle of this cornfield?”

“We’re going to turn you in!” All Smite told him.

“Who are you working for?” Muzan asked.

“....fuck you.” 

Orianna smirked, “Oh, that’s not very nice. Why are you here?”

But the man only stared off in the distance, not answering, seeming to realize just how much he’d messed up.

“We can’t help you if you don’t help us.” Orianna tried telling him.

“Turn me into the guard. They’re going to have better luck with me than you.” He told them.

“You really want to go to the guard though? We can save you the trouble.” She continued.

“I think the guard won’t be as nice as we are…” Muzan posited.

“I’ll take my chances.”

Curious, Muzan asked him, “Why? Why do you not want to say anything?”

“What’s it matter to you? What’s in it for _you_? Buncha fuckin do-gooders? Take me to the guard to get your pay or whatever and get outta here, or kill me. Before you bore me to death.”

“Curious seeing another tiefling around here...” Orianna mused.

“Yeah, what of it?” 

“We’re not the most common race in the world.”

“Yeah, well...sucks for everybody else.”

“Indeed it does…..maybe we can help each other.”

“Seriously, I’m just gonna fucking slit my throat if you keep talkin' to me like this. What do you want?”

“I want to know why you’re here.” Orianna told him.

“I’m here on a job.”

“A job from who?”

“A job that’s important, and I don’t disclose my employers. So please--”

“Oh, I’m very good at secrets.”

He chuckled, “I’m sure you are, princess. Shut the fuck up. Get me outta here. Release me of this fuckin life, or these bonds, one of them, because I can’t stand this anymore.”

Orianna looked at the man, “You’re awfully fatalistic. For such a handsome fellow.”

“Ha! Keep talkin' to me like that.” And he resumed staring off in the distance.

“I wonder if he’s worth anything.” Kharbek pondered aloud.

“I might be.” the man answered.

Orianna searched him and found a few valuables and some notes saying to check up on 'the family' to make sure they were not hiding anything away.

“I wonder if he’s part of those debt collectors…” Muzan said, looking at the note.

“I suppose that’s possible. This is one of the families isn’t it?” Orianna gestured back at the farmhouse.

“I believe so yes, the Venisani.”

“If he’s a debt collector what’s he doin' sneaking around.” Sol wondered.

“Yeah, which is why I don’t see why he’s giving us such a hard time of, y’know, telling us what he’s doing.” Orianna glared at the man.

Though at the mention of 'debt collectors' Muzan noticed the man’s mouth twitch a little. “You seem to know something about that.” He told the man. “Is that your job?”

“What, it’s common knowledge.”

“Forgive us for not knowing ‘common knowledge’ when we are visitors.”

“Did I seem like I was fuckin blaming you? I’m in a pissy mood!”

“Clearly.” 

“We could change that.” Orianna told him with a smile.

The man looked at her unconvinced, “I just got a migraine worse than anything you can possibly imagine from some goddamn whisper bullshit, and now I’m in manacles in a cornfield and I’m probably...I’m 50/50 thinkin' I’m gonna die out here which is not what I intended to do!”

“I think the worst thing that has happened is just we are boring you to death.” Muzan told him.

“You’re gettin there!”

“Maybe don’t shoot my friend next time,” Orianna said. “You didn’t even know why we were here.”

“You can tell your friend to mind his fuckin business.”

At that they heard noisy wind sounds as Rin approached, and barely heard a tiny voice saying “Oh, oh yeah!” before the wind dissipated. “Oh! We caught him, that’s good!”

“How the fuck are you still alive?” the man looked at the arrow in Rin’s chest.

“Oh, I’ve survived worse!” Rin told him, “Why did you shoot me? That was really rude.”

“You were following where I went. I thought you were the one that saw me.”

“Well buddy, I was just askin'--I thought you might want to pet our dogs!” Rin brightly told him.

“Yeah, he did yell that.” Sol said, matter-of-factly.

“...what?”

“We have a dog.” Sol explained.

Rin gestured to Kharbek, who was now carrying both puppies. “We have cute dogs, I thought you were looking at our dogs and you wanted to pet them, and that’s why you were off in the shadows. Our friends thought that you were a sneaky dude with aggressive behavior, and I trusted you, and you shot me in the chest. Thanks for that.”

“Who the fuck are you people?!” The man looked at them confused and angry.

“Does it fucking matter?” Rin asked him.

“You guys are so weird!”

“We are the Not Group!” Muzan told him cheerily.

“We’re also known as...The Gang.” Rin added.

“No, we’re not. We’re not an organized group, we’re not a thing. This is temporary, uh, traveling companion situation. We’re after a bounty right now, this has nothing to do with that!” Sol adamantly explained. The man sighed and Sol started unbinding him as he was ranting about their status as 'not a group'.

“Why is it so important that your cover isn’t blown?” Muzan asked him.

“Why would I say that?”

“Who are you hiding from, them or someone else?”

“Why would I say that? If what I’m doing is important--ah thank you,” he rubbed his wrist as Sol removed the manacles.

Muzan leveled his gaze at the man, “So that we know we can just leave and not have to worry about being shot at again."

“You think I’m gonna shoot at seven people??”

 _No, but whoever you’re working for might._ Muzan thought.

“I’m outta here. Can I have my rapier back?” After a moment Muzan handed the man his things that they had taken.

“What’s your name?” Orianna asked.

“My name, is Fuck. You.”

“Weird name.” Rin commented.

Once his things had been returned, Orianna strolled up to him holding out a hand with his money. He tried to grab it and she pulled it away from his grasp. She smirked, “You’re too kind,” gave him a kiss on the cheek, and handed him his money.

“You guys are fuckin weird...I’m outta here," and he started walking away.

“Run while you still can.” Sol called after him.

As the man heard that he raised a hand, “Fuck you very much!” and continued on.

At that point they could all hear Lucrecia and her husband Viktor calling out to the field if anyone was out there. Rin called back and they thought that he had gotten lost in the field, telling him to follow their voices. Before Rin started moving to join the Venisani, Muzan told him to wait and asked the group what they should tell them. Rin though they should tell the couple exactly what had happened, but Muzan and Orianna were not too sure about that. They didn't have all the pieces to the puzzle.

As they were quietly discussing it, Kharbek removed the arrow from Rin's shoulder and patched him up with a healing spell.

"Why would we not tell her what just happened?" Rin asked them, confused.

"Based one what Iris told us...this family is mixed up in something." Muzan explained.

"Shouldn’t we help them?"

They heard Lucretia and Viktor walking towards them through the field. “Excuse me?” Viktor appeared carrying a sickle, and took a look at them. “There’s a lotta you. What’re you doin' in my field?" Then he looked at the destroyed crop, "WHAT DID YOU DO?” He looked at Rin, “What’re you doin?”

“Um..” Rin started.

“We lost one of the dogs.” Orianna interjected.

“Yes, we got a bit lost chasing them down and we couldn’t find our way out.” Muzan added.

Viktor nodded, “Oh! Alright. Glad you got em. Woah! Are you guys all right?” He noticed Rin’s bloody shirt and the blood on the corn stalks.

“In addition to losing our puppy. There was a guy that shot me. With an arrow. And it hurt. And we chased him down. And we caught him. And he got away. Kind of, we let him go. But you might wanna be careful.” Rin rambled on.

Muzan sighed, “Yes, are you in some sort of trouble?”

“....you just...just go on home now. It’s fine. Don’t be causin’ any trouble.” Viktor's demeanor shifted.

“We didn’t cause trouble.” Rin told him.

“We were the ones who were attacked.” Muzan explained.

“Just….get….” Viktor told them, “Not supposed to be back here. Go on home.”

Sol, taking the hint, looked at the group, “We’re trespassing, let’s go everyone.”

“Yes, let us go find the guards…” Muzan agreed. Viktor clearly didn't want them involved.

“Do you have a way to protect yourself?” Rin tried asking.

“Did I stutter? Get.” 

“Well maybe we can help you.” Orianna offered.

Viktor shook his head, “No, you can’t. No one can help. That Deacon fellow tried and he ain’t got anywhere.”

“Who’s that?” she asked him.

“It’s uh, cleric. Trying to help us folk around here, uh, petition one of the merchant princes about our situation. And, well, he ain’t get anywhere. So now that loan shark bitch is down our throats again.”

“Who’s the 'loan shark bitch'?” Rin asked curiously.

“It’s not good to speak her name, she knows a lot of people.”

“If you can’t speak it...maybe you could write it down?” Muzan asked.

“...that’s worse.” Viktor said. “Listen, she owns most of the businesses. She worked her way up to the top of the second ward. Um…” Lucretia stepped forward and almost seemed to say something but remained silent. Viktor continued on, “Listen it’s just, it’s complicated, it’s hard. It’s a hard life we’ve got here, but I don’t think there’s anything you can do to help.”

Muzan looked at him curiously, “You said the top of the second ward." 

“I said too much already.” 

“Do you mean the very top?”

“I said I said too much, _boy_.”

Muzan held his hand up, “Fine. We won’t help you. We will just mind our own business.”

“Even though we could help and we’ve got an in with some of the people in this city, but you don’t want our help, fine.” Orianna added.

“I know Pyrus Vesti.” Rin told him.

“That too, we do know him.” Orianna said.

Viktor looked at them confused, “Who the shit is that?”

“...nobody important.” Rin said, “Um, I’m really sorry that your field, which is amazing by the way, uhh. I’m sorry we hurt it, but hopefully we drove away the would-be assassin? Loan shark? Person? I don’t know.”

“Just get you gone son, and be careful.”

“Okay, have a good day. Goodbye! We’re gonna go north and deal with your bandit problem.”

Lucretia waved slightly as they left. They made their way down the road, continuing towards the northern gate. After fifteen minutes they were close to their destination, but they could hear footsteps behind. When they looked back to see who it was, they saw Lucretia catching up to them.

“Do you need something?” Muzan asked her.

“Listen." She told them, "If you really think that you can help, ask about Deacon at that tavern. With the hammer on the sign? Ask about him and see, maybe he can do something. I….Viktor’s always been stubborn but,” she sighed, “ever since...we sent...about a year ago we had our youngest, Anna, she was gonna help work off the debt. And I think….it’s getting to him but he still wont’....he’s still a bit too prideful and we tried through normal means but... it's a long line to talk to the right people, y’know?”

“Where did they send her to work off the debt?” Muzan asked her.

“Uhhh said something about...like, uh..some sort of mill or factory or something?”

“Is she getting paid or is she a slave…?” Rin asked.

“Uh, she’s working off the debt--” but Lucretia seemed hesitant.

Rin looked at her, “Is she allowed to leave?”

“I think so? She sends us letters every now and then…”

“Where is this factory?” Orianna asked.

“It’s in the second ward, um…”

Rin pulled out his notebook again, “What’s it called?”

“Ahh, I think they called it...uh...like The Seamstress or something? Seems like they called it ‘The something Mistress’, I don’t know.”

“That flyer we got earlier, what was the name on that?” Rin asked.

“The Chevalier’s Mistress.” Muzan said grimly.

“Was that it?”

“I don’t think so….I wouldn’t imagine my Anna going there...but it sounded like it, sure…”

“Well, we’ll see if we can find her.” Orianna told her, giving the group a look to say ‘shut the fuck up’. Rin didn't notice the look but Kharbek did and put a puppy over Rin’s mouth.

Rin pulled the puppy down, “We might be able to help with that--” but he was interrupted as Kharbek put the other puppy over his mouth.

“Rin, we’ll look into it, ok?” Orianna told him.

“Yeah, what can we _do_ to help?” Rin

“We’ll figure it out.” Orianna said.

“Meet with Deacon, he--usually in the evenings he’s at that tavern. Maybe he can--maybe he can point you in the right direction.” Lucretia told them.

“How much is this debt?” Muzan asked her.

“...I don’t think Viktor would like me telling you. I think he’ll be mad enough knowing that I’ve been out.”

“What contract? We won’t tell anyone.” He told her sincerely.

She looked at him and sighed a bit, “Oh….looking at about...two thousand?”

“Two thousand gold?”

“Yeah,” she said quietly.

“Alright.”

“Well it seems like our friend Orianna already knows what we need to do. So I guess we’re gonna help? In a way? Maybe?” Rin said.

“We’ll help. We’ll at least see what’s going on with your Anna.” Orianna reassured Lucretia.

“Thank you…”

“But of course.”

“Um..I really got to be gettin' back, I need to do some sewing..” Lucretia told them, and she departed to go back to her home.

Before she could leave Orianna stopped her to ask what Anna looked like. Lucretia gave her a basic description of a woman that looks like her with a birthmark on her shoulder.

“We’ll keep an eye out for her.” Orianna told her.

Lucretia thanked them and returned home.

“Well, looks like this little adventure is right up my alley.” Orianna said.

“Freeing people?” Rin asked her.

Orianna looked at him, “Well, if she’s a whore, then yes.”

“Yeah, it sounds like she’s in the sex trade and doesn’t wanna tell her mom.” Sol commented.

Muzan nodded, “Yes, it does sound like that. And I doubt she is able to leave of her own will.”

“Well, then it’s up for us to save her!” Rin said.

“Oh I’m sure she’s not, which means she’ll need help.” Orianna added.

“The letters might even be fabricated.” Sol mused.

Rin looked at them, “Looks like we got a, uh, ‘factory’ to burn.”

Orianna shook her head, “Oh no, don’t burn it down.”

“Why not?”

“There’s probably more people there. We’d have to get them all out.”

“Oh, yeah, get the people out then burn it down.”

Sol grimaced, “That’s destruction of property…”

“Yep!” Rin told him cheerily.

“It’s probably not a good idea Rin, especially with your standing with Pyrus. You don’t want that to be affected, do you?” Orianna told him.

“Eh, if it is it is.” Rin shrugged.

“Mmm, you’re not thinking big enough Rin. Don’t jeopardize something as powerful as that.”

“I think one day I’ll be more powerful than Pyrus is anyway, so it doesn’t really matter.” Rin told her. _Now that's an interesting declaration..._ Muzan thought.

“Yes, but why burn bridges now?” Orianna asked him.

“I’m not intending to burn bridges, I’m intending to burn a shitty whorehouse.” Rin stated.

Since they were already at the gate they decided to talk to the guards about the bandits first before going to investigate The Chevalier’s Mistress. They approached to find a decent regimen of guards patrolling, and asked one of them about their bandit problem. The guard told them that they were waiting for backup and advised them not to go up the road, saying that it got more dangerous once it got dark out. Like Iris, the guard knew that normally there were just hoofprints and remains of carts found at the scene but not much else. Though he knew that the hoofprints were not horses. There was some speculation among the guards as to what made the prints, but nothing was certain. All they knew was that people going missing and their carts were left but no one was there. No remains or blood. Nothing of value was left in the carts either.

The group wondered if it might be connected to the Chevalier’s Mistress, if they were capturing people to work there. As they discussed how they were going to approach the bandits, they talked about sending someone ahead to be bait. Orianna suggested going by herself while the rest of the group hung back and waited for them to go after her, but no one liked that idea. It was decided that Sol would go with her, despite his reluctance to do so. 

The rest of the group traveled several feet behind them on the road and tried to be stealthy. Unknown to them though, it was a poor attempt at any kind of stealth.

Sol and Orianna spotted two boars with orcs riding them stalking them in the trees. Sol discretely drew his bow and they faked having a fight to make it seem like they hadn’t noticed the orcs trailing them. They soon lost sight of the boars, and it seemed like they might have been scared away by the sounds of the rest of the group following in the distance, but as they continued walking down the path they were suddenly charged by the two boar riders.


End file.
